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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. game — a match
  3. object — an aim
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — a thing
  8. swing — music
  9. suit — in cards
  10. snap — to click
  11. clip — a video
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — of ice
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. suit — to fit
  16. suit — clothes
  17. kick — in football
  18. clip — for paper
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. clip — to cut
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cap — a lid
  23. swing — in golf
  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