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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · pop · cell · bark · pitcher · content · snap · hand

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pop — soda
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. hand — help
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cell — in biology
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. race — humankind
  13. content — happy
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. race — a contest
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pop — music
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bark — to shout
  22. cell — a phone
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to click

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