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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: game · rule · nail · bass · hand · snap · ball · club

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. hand — help
  3. club — for golf
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. club — a group
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. game — a match
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. club — for dancing
  11. rule — government
  12. ball — a great time
  13. rule — a law
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. ball — a dance
  19. game — wild animals
  20. hand — in cards
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bass — low music
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. game — a kind of play

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