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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. pop — soda
  3. game — a match
  4. mark — a trace
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. cell — a phone
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. hand — help
  11. pop — music
  12. mark — a grade
  13. cell — in biology
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pop — to visit
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. hand — in cards
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. snap — to click

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