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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: key · game · snap · hand · tear · wake · rule · file

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. key — in music
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. rule — government
  6. hand — help
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. tear — to rip
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. snap — to click
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rule — a law
  18. hand — in cards
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. key — for a lock
  23. file — a document
  24. key — the most important part

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