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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. 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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — in music
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. season — in sport
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bark — to shout
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bass — the fish
  14. season — of the year
  15. bass — low music
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cell — in biology
  22. rock — music
  23. game — a match
  24. 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