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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. pop — to visit
  3. file — a line of people
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. game — wild animals
  7. file — a tool
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. game — a match
  10. file — a document
  11. pop — soda
  12. snap — to click
  13. chip — for betting
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. chip — to eat
  17. pop — music
  18. chip — in a computer

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