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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bear · kick · wave · chest · game · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. chest — of your body
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. kick — in football
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. snap — to click
  12. chest — a box
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. bear — the animal
  16. game — a match
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bear — the animal

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