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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. object — an aim
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. object — to protest
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. content — the amount
  13. track — a path
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. game — a match
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. object — a thing
  19. track — a song
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wake — a trail
  22. snap — to click
  23. content — happy
  24. game — wild animals

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