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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rash — a series
  4. snap — to click
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. swing — in golf
  11. press — a publisher
  12. date — the fruit
  13. fall — the season
  14. sharp — clever
  15. fall — to drop
  16. lean — thin
  17. press — to push
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. rash — hasty
  22. press — newspapers
  23. swing — music
  24. lean — to bend

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