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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. suit — to fit
  4. file — a tool
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. swing — in golf
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. file — a document
  14. suit — clothes
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. root — of a word
  20. snap — to click
  21. root — the cause
  22. suit — in cards
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cold — the Cold War

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