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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 120 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. spring — of water
  3. can — a tin
  4. game — wild animals
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. spring — a coil
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. club — a group
  12. clip — to cut
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — in control
  15. can — a tin
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. clip — for paper
  18. spring — the season
  19. charge — electricity
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. game — a match
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to click
  24. hide — to keep secret

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