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

Word bank: content · key · ruler · date · stand · snap · race · chest

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. content — happy
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. key — for a lock
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stand — to bear
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. date — the fruit
  9. race — the arms race
  10. key — in music
  11. content — the amount
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. key — the most important part
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. stand — on your feet

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