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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: snap · wake · content · row · pitcher · rule · shower · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. row — a line
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wake — a trail
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. snap — to click
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — government
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. shower — rain
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. content — the amount

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