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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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Word bank
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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 · face · snap · band · deal · pop · bat · current

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to click
  3. game — wild animals
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pop — music
  6. current — electric
  7. bat — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. game — a match
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. band — a music group
  16. pop — soda
  17. current — happening now
  18. band — a ring
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. current — of water
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. pop — to visit
  24. face — to confront

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