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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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Word bank
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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: date · mug · pitcher · game · track · spell · swing · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. spell — letters
  3. game — wild animals
  4. spell — a short time
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a cup
  10. swing — music
  11. track — a path
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. spell — magic
  17. date — the fruit
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. swing — in golf
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. snap — to click
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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