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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lean — thin
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wake — a trail
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chair — a leader
  11. shower — rain
  12. bore — to drill
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bore — to tire
  16. tube — the underground
  17. snap — to click
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. tube — a container
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wake — before a funeral

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