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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. pop — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pop — to visit
  7. snap — to click
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. net — after costs
  14. kick — in football
  15. pop — soda
  16. swing — music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rule — government
  19. net — in sport
  20. fall — the season
  21. net — for catching
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rule — a law
  24. fall — to drop

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