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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. lean — to bend
  4. kid — child
  5. ground — the earth
  6. scale — in music
  7. game — wild animals
  8. snap — to click
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. ground — a position
  12. game — a match
  13. ground — crushed
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. kid — to tease
  16. scale — size or range
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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