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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — government
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. perch — the fish
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. game — a match
  13. mate — a partner
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mate — to breed
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — rain
  22. mate — a friend
  23. game — wild animals
  24. mouse — the animal

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