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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. swing — in golf
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. chip — for betting
  5. firm — decided
  6. lean — thin
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. swing — music
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. race — humankind
  13. prune — to trim
  14. firm — steady
  15. race — a contest
  16. chip — to eat
  17. lean — to bend
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. firm — a company
  22. race — the arms race
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. swing — to play on

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