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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: kid · land · cabinet · last · content · snap · rest · game

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. kid — child
  6. game — a match
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. kid — to tease
  9. last — finally
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. land — ground
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. rest — a break
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to click

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