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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. field — farmland
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mate — a friend
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. field — for sport
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. plane — a tool
  9. mate — a partner
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bound — obliged
  13. key — in music
  14. field — a subject
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. key — the most important part
  20. bound — certain
  21. key — for a lock
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mate — to breed
  24. game — a match

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