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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 116 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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. last — to go on
  5. content — happy
  6. cue — a signal
  7. last — final
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. swing — music
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cue — a hint
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. last — finally
  21. content — the amount
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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