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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fine — high quality
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. fine — all right
  8. game — a match
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. date — the fruit
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. file — a line of people
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. hand — help
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. snap — to click
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. game — wild animals

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