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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. swing — in golf
  4. shower — to wash
  5. present — a gift
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. firm — a company
  8. row — to paddle
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. present — there
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. firm — steady
  18. row — a line
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. present — the time now
  21. swing — music
  22. firm — decided
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. swing — to play on

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