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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kid — to tease
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. stock — shares
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. snap — to click
  12. stock — goods
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. kid — child
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. game — a match
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. game — wild animals
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. cold — an illness

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