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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 120 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. snap — to click
  5. game — a match
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bulb — for light
  11. hand — in cards
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. hand — help
  16. pit — in a race
  17. sharp — clever
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — humankind
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. race — the arms race
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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