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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. current — electric
  6. game — a match
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. net — after costs
  9. current — happening now
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. current — of water
  12. net — for catching
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. face — to point toward
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — part of the head
  20. net — in sport
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. saw — the tool
  23. game — wild animals
  24. face — to confront

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