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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. snap — to click
  3. stock — goods
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rule — government
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rule — a law
  9. track — a path
  10. wind — moving air
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. game — a match
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bass — the fish
  15. track — to keep track
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. track — a song
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bass — low music

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