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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 · chair · track · snap · mug · bark · racket · mate

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. mate — a partner
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. track — a path
  5. bark — to shout
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mate — a friend
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. track — a song
  13. mate — to breed
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mug — a cup
  16. mug — to rob
  17. swing — music
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. swing — to play on
  21. snap — to click
  22. mug — a face
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. track — to keep track

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