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

Word bank: game · cabinet · tear · chair · snap · cell

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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. cabinet — ministers
  3. tear — from crying
  4. snap — to click
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tear — to rip
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cell — in biology
  15. chair — a leader
  16. game — a match
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone

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