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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. swing — music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chest — of your body
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chest — a box
  9. ball — a dance
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chip — to eat
  17. swing — in golf
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bat — the animal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chip — for betting
  22. swing — to play on
  23. degree — an amount
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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