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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: tear · content · cue · shower · deal · snap · net · arm

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. tear — to rip
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. net — after costs
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. net — for catching
  10. content — happy
  11. net — in sport
  12. cue — for pool
  13. shower — to wash
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. tear — from crying
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. deal — to handle
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cue — a signal
  21. content — the amount
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. snap — to click
  24. shower — rain

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