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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 120 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mate — a friend
  4. swing — music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mate — a partner
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. spell — letters
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. swing — in golf
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. game — a match
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. snap — to click
  16. cue — for pool
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cue — a signal
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — magic
  23. mate — to breed
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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