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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. swing — music
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. snap — to click
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. lean — thin
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. degree — an amount
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lean — to bend
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fall — the season
  15. swing — in golf
  16. deal — to handle
  17. band — a ring
  18. degree — from a university
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. band — a music group

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