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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. row — a line
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fork — in a road
  9. swing — in golf
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. hand — help
  14. fall — to drop
  15. swing — to play on
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fall — the season
  22. row — to paddle
  23. snap — to click
  24. date — the fruit

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