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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: wind · snap · mug · row · game · mark · ball · root

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mug — to rob
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mug — a face
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. root — the cause
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. root — of a plant
  16. row — a line
  17. wind — moving air
  18. root — of a word
  19. game — a match
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mark — a grade

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