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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: bay · game · arm · snap · roll · wake · mine · pound

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. pound — a weight
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. roll — a list
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. game — a match
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. pound — to hit hard

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