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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: swing · roll · object · hand · snap · foot · cabinet · cell

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. hand — in cards
  3. snap — to click
  4. swing — music
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. swing — to play on
  8. roll — a cake
  9. foot — a measure
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cell — a phone
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cell — in biology
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. roll — a list
  19. object — to protest
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. hand — help
  23. object — a thing
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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