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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  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. hide — to keep secret
  3. drill — the tool
  4. swing — music
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. swing — to play on
  7. present — there
  8. bass — low music
  9. pop — soda
  10. bass — the fish
  11. roll — a cake
  12. present — the time now
  13. roll — a list
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. present — a gift
  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