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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. snap — to click
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rash — hasty
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hand — help
  7. game — wild animals
  8. rash — a series
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. hand — in cards
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. stock — goods
  13. bass — the fish
  14. game — a match
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stock — shares
  24. rash — on the skin

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