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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to click
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. mark — a grade
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. content — happy
  9. kick — in football
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. rush — hurry
  12. fine — all right
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. fine — high quality
  15. vault — a safe
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. content — the amount
  24. mark — a trace

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