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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. swing — in golf
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. swing — music
  5. race — a contest
  6. fine — all right
  7. spell — letters
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bark — to shout
  13. fine — high quality
  14. swing — to play on
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. race — humankind
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mate — a partner
  21. snap — to click
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. race — the arms race

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