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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. clip — to cut
  3. game — a match
  4. shower — rain
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. net — in sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. shower — to wash
  16. net — after costs
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. rock — music
  20. game — wild animals
  21. net — for catching
  22. snap — to click
  23. clip — a video
  24. press — to push

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