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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. snap — to click
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. hand — help
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rule — government
  9. game — a match
  10. rule — a law
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. mark — a grade
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. game — wild animals
  24. mark — a trace

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