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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. net — in sport
  3. track — a song
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. swing — music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. press — to push
  12. scale — in music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. press — a publisher
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. scale — size or range
  17. press — newspapers
  18. swing — to play on
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. track — to keep track
  21. swing — in golf
  22. net — after costs
  23. track — a path
  24. net — for catching

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