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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. sharp — clever
  3. file — a document
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cue — for pool
  6. hand — help
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a tool
  14. game — wild animals
  15. hand — in cards
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cue — a signal
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. game — a match
  22. snap — to click
  23. cue — a hint
  24. sharp — with an edge

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