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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. net — for catching
  4. hand — help
  5. suit — to fit
  6. suit — clothes
  7. snap — to click
  8. suit — in cards
  9. row — a line
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. last — final
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — hurry
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. game — a match
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. last — finally
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. last — to go on
  24. row — to paddle

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