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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: pitch · hand · rule · snap · wave · pop · game · fork

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pop — to visit
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. game — wild animals
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. snap — to click
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. game — a match
  14. pop — soda
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. hand — help
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — to rule out

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