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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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Word bank
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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: can · mug · row · content · clip · snap · rash · face

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. mug — a cup
  3. clip — a video
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. face — to confront
  6. row — a line
  7. snap — to click
  8. rash — a series
  9. row — to paddle
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. mug — a face
  12. rash — hasty
  13. can — to be able to
  14. can — a tin
  15. clip — to cut
  16. content — happy
  17. mug — to rob
  18. can — a tin
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. clip — for paper
  22. face — to point toward
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. face — part of the head

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