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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. content — happy
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. present — there
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. court — of law
  9. game — a match
  10. court — for sport
  11. land — a country
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. game — wild animals
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. present — a gift
  16. content — the amount
  17. land — to come down
  18. court — of a king
  19. land — ground
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. present — the time now
  23. snap — to click
  24. mouse — the animal

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