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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: snap · pit · object · deal · mouse · wind · court · saw

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. snap — to click
  3. deal — to handle
  4. court — of a king
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. object — an aim
  7. court — for sport
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pit — a hole
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. court — of law
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. object — a thing
  24. wind — moving air

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