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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: game · plane · snap · rule · ball · mark · cold · mate

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. rule — a law
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cold — not warm
  10. game — a match
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mark — a trace
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rule — government
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. mate — a friend
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. ball — a dance
  20. snap — to click
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. ball — a great time
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mark — a grade

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