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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. game — wild animals
  3. ball — a great time
  4. shower — to wash
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. track — a path
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. shower — rain
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. foot — a measure
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. track — to keep track
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. rash — hasty
  18. game — a match
  19. track — a song
  20. rash — a series
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ball — a dance
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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