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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 help me carry this box?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. spell — a short time
  3. swing — in golf
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spell — magic
  8. swing — music
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spell — letters
  12. face — to confront
  13. chest — a box
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. face — part of the head
  22. snap — to click
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cold — the Cold War

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