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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. court — of a king
  4. bound — tied together
  5. last — to go on
  6. drill — army training
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bound — obliged
  10. court — of law
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bound — certain
  14. drill — a practice
  15. court — for sport
  16. last — finally
  17. snap — to click
  18. last — final
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — magic
  22. game — a match
  23. chip — for betting
  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