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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. snap — to click
  3. game — a match
  4. season — in sport
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. saw — the tool
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. lean — to bend
  11. saw — the tool
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — of the year
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — thin
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. fork — in a road
  18. game — wild animals

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