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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. net — after costs
  4. race — a contest
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. perch — the fish
  9. snap — to click
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. net — for catching
  16. swing — in golf
  17. race — the arms race
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stem — to come from
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. net — in sport
  22. squash — the sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. perch — for a bird

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