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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. kid — to tease
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. snap — to click
  7. ball — a great time
  8. roll — a cake
  9. swing — in golf
  10. branch — a division
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. roll — a list
  13. kid — child
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — music
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. pit — in a race
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. swing — music
  24. pit — a hole

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