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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bank — for money
  3. content — happy
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. content — the amount
  9. rush — hurry
  10. field — for sport
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. firm — decided
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. firm — steady
  15. field — a subject
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. kid — to tease
  18. field — farmland
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. firm — a company
  21. bank — for money
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kid — child
  24. bank — of a river

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