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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. mine — for digging
  5. key — for a lock
  6. game — wild animals
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. key — the most important part
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. swing — in golf
  17. key — in music
  18. snap — to click
  19. game — a match
  20. swing — music
  21. roll — a cake
  22. dip — to sink
  23. swing — to play on
  24. roll — a list

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