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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. snap — to click
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rock — a stone
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. bat — the animal
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. rock — music
  15. content — the amount
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. track — a path
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rash — a series
  22. track — a song
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mouse — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com