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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. swing — in golf
  3. present — the time now
  4. chair — a leader
  5. present — a gift
  6. branch — a division
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lean — thin
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bat — the animal
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. lean — to bend
  18. swing — to play on
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. swing — music
  23. snap — to click
  24. present — there

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