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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · toast · swing · snap · cabinet · pop

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. race — a contest
  3. toast — bread
  4. race — the arms race
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pop — music
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to click
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. race — humankind
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit

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