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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. swing — to play on
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. stock — shares
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. stock — goods
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cold — not warm
  12. deal — to handle
  13. snap — to click
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. rash — a series
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. rash — hasty
  22. swing — music
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stock — a soup base

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