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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. content — happy
  5. game — a match
  6. pound — a weight
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. snap — to click
  15. kid — to tease
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. kid — child

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