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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. game — wild animals
  3. shower — to wash
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. suit — clothes
  7. clip — to cut
  8. root — of a plant
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. root — the cause
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. game — a match
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. suit — to fit
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. suit — in cards
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. root — of a word
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. clip — a video

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