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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. key — for a lock
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. land — a country
  10. key — in music
  11. ball — a dance
  12. hand — in cards
  13. march — the month
  14. land — to come down
  15. hand — help
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. key — the most important part
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. land — ground

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