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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. sharp — clever
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mate — to breed
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cold — an illness
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cold — not warm
  20. net — for catching
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. net — after costs
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. net — in sport

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