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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 116 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 · bowl · game · rule · land · bulb · branch · pitcher

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. game — a match
  3. rule — a law
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. land — a country
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. game — wild animals
  12. branch — a division
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. land — to come down
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. land — ground
  24. branch — of a bank

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