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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 120 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: hand · arm · pit · bound · spring · ball · game · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. spring — of water
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. ball — a dance
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. spring — the season
  9. bound — obliged
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. ball — a great time
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. pit — in a race
  15. game — wild animals
  16. hand — help
  17. pit — a hole
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bound — tied together
  21. spring — a coil
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bound — certain
  24. game — a match

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