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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. court — of law
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. chip — to eat
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. chip — for betting
  7. court — of a king
  8. sharp — clever
  9. court — for sport
  10. snap — to click
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. row — to paddle
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. row — a line
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. cell — in biology

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