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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: snap · game · hide · swing · scale · ball · bass · face

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. snap — to click
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. ball — a great time
  7. scale — size or range
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. swing — to play on
  12. ball — a dance
  13. scale — in music
  14. face — to confront
  15. bass — low music
  16. face — part of the head
  17. swing — music
  18. face — to point toward
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bass — the fish

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