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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: snap · dip · court · pop · chest · spell · drill · swing

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. drill — a practice
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. drill — army training
  6. snap — to click
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. pop — to visit
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — a short time
  11. chest — a box
  12. court — of a king
  13. dip — to sink
  14. spell — magic
  15. court — for sport
  16. swing — in golf
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pop — music
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. swing — music
  22. pop — soda
  23. swing — to play on
  24. dip — a sauce

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