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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. spell — letters
  4. chip — for betting
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. spell — magic
  7. game — a match
  8. snap — to click
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. row — a line
  13. game — wild animals
  14. spell — a short time
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. sharp — clever
  18. chip — to eat
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. row — to paddle
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. sharp — exactly

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