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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: last · mate · kid · swing · prune · arm · snap · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. kid — child
  3. swing — music
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. last — final
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. last — to go on
  8. mate — a friend
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mate — to breed
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mate — a partner
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. prune — to trim
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. snap — to click
  23. kid — to tease
  24. last — finally

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