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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. toast — bread
  3. cold — an illness
  4. face — part of the head
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. face — to point toward
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. game — a match
  16. staff — employees
  17. game — wild animals
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. rush — hurry
  21. face — to confront
  22. staff — a stick
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. staff — employees

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