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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. swing — in golf
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. snap — to click
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. track — a song
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. track — a path
  11. field — farmland
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. track — to keep track
  16. field — a subject
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. field — for sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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