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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. swing — music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. net — in sport
  4. mug — a cup
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — a cake
  12. net — after costs
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. net — for catching
  16. mug — a face
  17. swing — to play on
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mug — to rob
  21. snap — to click
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bat — the animal
  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