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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. kid — child
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. snap — to click
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. game — a match
  11. kid — to tease
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wake — a trail
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. face — part of the head
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cap — of ice
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. cap — a hat
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cap — a lid

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