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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wound — an injury
  10. swing — music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. rash — a series
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. deal — to handle
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. pop — soda
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. pop — music

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