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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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. bat — for baseball
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. track — a song
  6. bat — the animal
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. swing — to play on
  12. ground — the earth
  13. track — a path
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — in football
  16. ground — crushed
  17. track — to keep track
  18. swing — music
  19. ground — a position
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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