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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. snap — to click
  4. cold — an illness
  5. swing — in golf
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. march — the month
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. cold — not warm
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. march — music
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. march — the month
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. coach — a trainer

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