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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. swing — music
  3. fine — high quality
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. track — a song
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pop — to visit
  10. fine — all right
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. track — to keep track
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. cold — not warm
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pop — music
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pop — soda
  21. swing — to play on
  22. track — a path
  23. snap — to click
  24. swing — in golf

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