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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: snap · wind · stand · swing · spell · date · march · tear

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. snap — to click
  4. date — the fruit
  5. spell — magic
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wind — moving air
  9. swing — in golf
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. march — the month
  15. swing — music
  16. march — music
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stand — to bear
  21. march — the month
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. swing — to play on
  24. tear — from crying

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