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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. swing — to play on
  4. roll — a list
  5. net — for catching
  6. field — farmland
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cell — a phone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. suit — in cards
  11. field — a subject
  12. cell — in biology
  13. suit — to fit
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. net — after costs
  16. roll — a cake
  17. snap — to click
  18. suit — clothes
  19. field — for sport
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. rock — a stone
  22. swing — music
  23. rock — music
  24. net — in sport

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