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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — boats
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. fall — the season
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wind — moving air
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. charge — in control
  18. charge — a price
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. row — a line
  22. charge — electricity
  23. snap — to click
  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