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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. last — to go on
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. march — the month
  6. squash — the sport
  7. can — a tin
  8. march — the month
  9. last — final
  10. can — to be able to
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. march — music
  18. can — a tin
  19. content — the amount
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. content — happy
  22. last — finally
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — to bear

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