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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. present — there
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bank — for money
  5. present — a gift
  6. spell — letters
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. content — happy
  9. court — of a king
  10. march — the month
  11. court — for sport
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. march — music
  14. pit — a hole
  15. court — of law
  16. bank — for money
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. content — the amount
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. march — the month
  22. pit — in a race
  23. present — the time now
  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