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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. game — wild animals
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. game — a match
  5. snap — to click
  6. roll — a cake
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. roll — a list
  14. pit — in a race
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. pit — a hole
  24. tube — the underground

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