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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. stock — goods
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. spring — of water
  7. pit — in a race
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. snap — to click
  11. pit — a hole
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  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