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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: leaves · game · charge · cue · cap · snap · kid · row

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cue — a signal
  5. charge — a price
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. charge — in control
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. game — a match
  12. cap — a hat
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. cap — of ice
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cue — a hint
  24. charge — electricity

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