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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 120 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wound — an injury
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. game — wild animals
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. game — a match
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. key — the most important part
  14. wound — an injury
  15. key — in music
  16. snap — to click
  17. key — for a lock
  18. arm — part of the body

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