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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 120 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: spell · fine · rule · arm · drill · game · snap · kid

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. drill — army training
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rule — government
  8. spell — a short time
  9. snap — to click
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. spell — magic
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. kid — to tease
  14. game — wild animals
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. drill — a practice
  17. spell — letters
  18. rule — a law
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. kid — child
  21. game — a match
  22. drill — the tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rule — to rule out

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