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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — music
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — a series
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. scale — size or range
  17. band — a ring
  18. scale — in music
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. band — a music group
  22. snap — to click
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. swing — to play on

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