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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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. cell — in a prison
  3. last — finally
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. snap — to click
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. game — wild animals
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cell — a phone
  13. game — a match
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bound — certain
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. last — to go on
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bound — tied together
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. last — final
  22. bound — obliged
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bowl — to roll

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