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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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. board — a flat piece
  3. object — a thing
  4. game — wild animals
  5. object — to protest
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. board — to get on
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. board — a committee
  12. object — an aim
  13. game — a match
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. snap — to click
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. date — the fruit
  24. wind — to turn a key

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