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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: bowl · bear · content · hand · snap · chip · shower · pitch

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. content — happy
  5. shower — rain
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. shower — to wash
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. hand — help
  13. pitch — completely
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. snap — to click
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. hand — in cards

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