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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 120 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — music
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wake — a trail
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. ball — a great time
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. scale — size or range
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. scale — in music
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. swing — in golf
  24. chair — a leader

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