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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. land — to come down
  4. tube — the underground
  5. face — to confront
  6. snap — to click
  7. land — a country
  8. tube — a container
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a path
  11. swing — in golf
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. swing — music
  17. land — ground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. swing — to play on
  20. track — a song
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. face — part of the head
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bowl — a dish

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