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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. field — for sport
  5. file — a tool
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. swing — music
  8. cap — of ice
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. cap — a lid
  15. snap — to click
  16. net — in sport
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a great time
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. field — a subject
  21. cap — a hat
  22. field — farmland
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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