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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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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: straw · pound · mate · charge · game · spring · snap · racket

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. spring — of water
  6. snap — to click
  7. mate — a friend
  8. spring — the season
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. charge — electricity
  11. game — wild animals
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — in control
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mate — a partner
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. game — a match
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. racket — for tennis

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