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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. swing — in golf
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. swing — music
  5. cold — an illness
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. game — wild animals
  8. deal — to handle
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. current — electric
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the sport
  19. snap — to click
  20. swing — to play on
  21. current — of water
  22. cap — a hat
  23. game — a match
  24. current — happening now

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