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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. field — farmland
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. field — a subject
  6. snap — to click
  7. face — part of the head
  8. chair — a leader
  9. object — an aim
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. object — to protest
  15. field — for sport
  16. game — a match
  17. face — to point toward
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. deal — to handle
  22. object — a thing
  23. face — to confront
  24. game — wild animals

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