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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: race · game · bay · bulb · snap · roll · wind · chair

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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. snap — to click
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a list
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. race — a contest
  11. roll — a cake
  12. bulb — for light
  13. chair — a leader
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bulb — for light
  17. game — a match
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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