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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wind — moving air
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tube — a container
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. snap — to click
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a hole
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. swing — to play on
  17. tube — the underground
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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