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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cold — not warm
  6. swing — in golf
  7. rash — hasty
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — a thing
  10. object — an aim
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rash — a series
  13. cold — an illness
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. snap — to click

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