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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rash — a series
  4. mark — a trace
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rule — a law
  7. cue — a hint
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cue — a signal
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. rule — government
  14. band — a ring
  15. swing — to play on
  16. rash — hasty
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cue — for pool
  19. swing — music
  20. band — a music group
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. mark — a grade
  23. hand — help
  24. swing — in golf

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