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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mate — a partner
  3. ball — a dance
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. ball — a great time
  7. game — a match
  8. chair — a leader
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. snap — to click
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — to breed
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — in football

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