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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. perch — the fish
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mark — a trace
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. race — the arms race
  17. deal — to handle
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. spring — of water
  21. race — humankind
  22. mark — a grade
  23. race — a contest
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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