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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 120 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. chip — for betting
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. pit — in a race
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — to eat
  11. shower — rain
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. snap — to click
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. shower — to wash
  20. clip — a video
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. pit — a hole
  23. fine — high quality
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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