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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. swing — music
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. shower — rain
  10. scale — size or range
  11. vault — a safe
  12. rest — a break
  13. scale — in music
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. rest — what's left
  17. squash — to crush
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. swing — in golf
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. swing — to play on
  23. shower — to wash
  24. squash — the sport

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