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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 124 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. chip — for betting
  5. spring — a coil
  6. fine — high quality
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — in music
  10. rush — hurry
  11. race — a contest
  12. chip — to eat
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. spring — of water
  15. fine — all right
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. last — to go on
  18. race — the arms race
  19. last — final
  20. spring — the season
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. race — humankind
  24. last — finally

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