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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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. mate — a friend
  3. face — part of the head
  4. drill — a practice
  5. game — a match
  6. rule — government
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. face — to confront
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wake — a trail
  12. face — to point toward
  13. mate — to breed
  14. drill — the tool
  15. rule — a law
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. drill — army training
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mate — a partner
  24. dip — to sink

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