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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: pass · ball · game · wind · chest · snap · wave · ground

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. pass — a permit
  6. ground — a position
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. ground — crushed
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. chest — of your body
  17. ball — a dance
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chest — a box
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. ball — a great time
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. snap — to click
  24. ground — the earth

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