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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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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 · bat · chip · rash · roll · press · ball

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bat — the animal
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. snap — to click
  14. roll — a cake
  15. press — newspapers
  16. ball — a great time
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. roll — a list
  24. press — a publisher

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