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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. game — a match
  4. cap — a hat
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. hand — in cards
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. snap — to click
  17. deal — to handle
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. game — wild animals

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