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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 116 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — in a race
  4. scale — in music
  5. spell — magic
  6. pit — a hole
  7. land — a country
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. net — for catching
  10. chip — for betting
  11. mark — a trace
  12. chip — to eat
  13. net — in sport
  14. land — ground
  15. spell — a short time
  16. scale — size or range
  17. net — after costs
  18. spell — letters
  19. mark — a grade
  20. land — to come down
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. snap — to click
  24. chip — in a computer

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