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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. charge — in control
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — help
  6. fall — the season
  7. swing — in golf
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — music
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — a video
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — electricity
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wound — an injury
  22. clip — for paper
  23. snap — to click
  24. clip — to cut

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