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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. snap — to click
  10. stock — goods
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. tube — the underground
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. tube — a container
  17. scale — in music
  18. toast — bread
  19. game — a match
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. scale — size or range
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. scale — for weighing

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