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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 · face · rush · swing · can · fork · cold · scale

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. fork — in a road
  7. face — to confront
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. can — a tin
  10. swing — music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. scale — in music
  14. rush — hurry
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. snap — to click
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. face — part of the head
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cold — not warm

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