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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. swing — music
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. kid — child
  6. swing — to play on
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pitch — completely
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. spring — of water
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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