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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. tube — a container
  3. can — a tin
  4. snap — to click
  5. tube — the underground
  6. present — a gift
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. swing — in golf
  9. present — the time now
  10. can — to be able to
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. hand — in cards
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. hand — help
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. present — there
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — a trace
  21. can — a tin
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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