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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: lie · tear · tube · hand · swing · arm · march · snap

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. swing — in golf
  3. tube — a container
  4. hand — in cards
  5. tear — to rip
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. swing — to play on
  11. march — the month
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. march — music
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. swing — music
  18. snap — to click
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. lie — to recline
  23. hand — help
  24. tube — the underground

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