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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · present · content · hand · snap · degree · cue · drill

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. spell — letters
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. drill — the tool
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cue — for pool
  9. degree — temperature
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. drill — a practice
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — magic
  14. cue — a signal
  15. content — the amount
  16. drill — army training
  17. present — a gift
  18. hand — help
  19. present — the time now
  20. degree — from a university
  21. content — happy
  22. degree — an amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. present — there

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