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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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. board — to get on
  3. snap — to click
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. file — a tool
  6. rule — government
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. game — wild animals
  11. file — a document
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. board — a committee
  15. rule — a law
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cold — not warm
  24. game — a match

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