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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 · pass · snap · mate · sharp · saw · land · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. saw — the tool
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. mate — to breed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mate — a partner
  10. land — a country
  11. snap — to click
  12. mate — a friend
  13. land — ground
  14. swing — in golf
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. saw — the tool
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. land — to come down
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. firm — a company
  22. swing — music
  23. firm — decided
  24. sharp — clever

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