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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 116 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kid — child
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. charge — a price
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. game — wild animals
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cell — a phone
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. face — to confront
  14. rock — a stone
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cell — in biology
  17. face — part of the head
  18. charge — in control
  19. game — a match
  20. charge — electricity
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rock — music
  24. face — to point toward

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