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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. shower — rain
  3. net — after costs
  4. snap — to click
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. charge — in control
  7. net — in sport
  8. game — wild animals
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — electricity
  11. rest — a break
  12. shower — to wash
  13. rest — what's left
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. game — a match
  17. net — for catching
  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