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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. swing — in golf
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. chip — for betting
  8. content — happy
  9. wind — moving air
  10. swing — to play on
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. row — a line
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. swing — music
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. snap — to click
  20. chip — to eat
  21. row — to paddle
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — of the sea

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