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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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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 · game · shower · wave · rule · snap · sharp · pit

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. kid — to tease
  5. game — a match
  6. pit — in a race
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. game — wild animals
  10. rule — a law
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. rule — government
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. shower — to wash
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. kid — child
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. shower — rain
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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