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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: rule · club · swing · snap · fine · cold

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. 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 — to play on
  2. club — for golf
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. cold — an illness
  5. snap — to click
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. club — for dancing
  10. swing — music
  11. club — a group
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. cold — not warm
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — government
  18. 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