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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 120 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. snap — to click
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. scale — in music
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bulb — for light
  12. content — the amount
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. scale — size or range
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. dip — to sink
  19. content — happy
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pitch — completely
  24. scale — for weighing

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