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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pitcher · shower · cold · swing · fine · saw · field

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. saw — the tool
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. field — for sport
  5. fine — high quality
  6. swing — music
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — an illness
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. swing — in golf
  15. snap — to click
  16. swing — to play on
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fine — all right
  24. cold — the Cold War

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