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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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. chip — to eat
  3. field — a subject
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. field — farmland
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. hand — in cards
  10. snap — to click
  11. chip — for betting
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. tear — from crying
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. tear — to rip
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. field — for sport
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. hand — help

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