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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: pound · snap · suit · wave · court · firm · game · clip

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — decided
  5. court — of a king
  6. snap — to click
  7. court — for sport
  8. firm — steady
  9. pound — a weight
  10. clip — a video
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. suit — clothes
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. suit — in cards
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. court — of law
  23. suit — to fit
  24. wave — of the sea

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