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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: last · track · swing · current · snap · stick · hand · row

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. track — to keep track
  3. swing — music
  4. current — electric
  5. last — to go on
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. last — final
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. swing — in golf
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. row — a line
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. current — of water
  19. snap — to click
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. last — finally
  22. current — happening now
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. row — to paddle

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