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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. snap — to click
  4. club — for golf
  5. chip — for betting
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chip — to eat
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. file — a document
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. file — a tool
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. club — a group
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. file — a line of people
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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