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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. chip — for betting
  4. snap — to click
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cell — a phone
  7. squash — to crush
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chip — to eat
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. drill — army training
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. drill — the tool
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. drill — a practice
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. squash — the sport
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cell — in biology
  24. racket — a loud noise

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