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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. lie — to recline
  8. swing — in golf
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. court — of law
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. court — of a king
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. court — for sport
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — a trace
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. racket — for tennis

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