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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. game — wild animals
  5. spell — a short time
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. kick — in football
  9. race — a contest
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. track — to keep track
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. race — the arms race
  16. track — a song
  17. race — humankind
  18. track — a path
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. kick — a thrill

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