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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. spell — letters
  3. chip — to eat
  4. roll — a list
  5. lean — to bend
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. spell — magic
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. field — a subject
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. chip — for betting
  13. game — a match
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. spell — a short time
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. field — farmland
  20. game — wild animals
  21. roll — a cake
  22. sharp — clever
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. field — for sport

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