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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: mark · bowl · lie · chest · season · swing · snap · cell

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to click
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. mark — a trace
  8. cell — in biology
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chest — of your body
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. swing — music
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — of the year
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. lie — to recline
  17. chest — of your body
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. chest — a box
  24. lie — an untruth

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