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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: saw · stick · snap · clip · bat · club · swing · field

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. club — for golf
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. club — for dancing
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. saw — the tool
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. field — farmland
  14. snap — to click
  15. club — a group
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. clip — a video
  18. swing — in golf
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. field — for sport
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. field — a subject

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