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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. content — happy
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. club — for golf
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. drill — a practice
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. suit — in cards
  12. suit — clothes
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. club — a group
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. snap — to click
  18. season — of the year
  19. club — for dancing
  20. drill — the tool
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. content — the amount
  23. suit — to fit
  24. drill — army training

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