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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. hand — help
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cell — in biology
  10. mate — a partner
  11. snap — to click
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mug — to rob
  15. game — a match
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wake — a trail
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. game — wild animals
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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