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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: swing · mine · chip · dip · mouse · present · snap · stem

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. swing — to play on
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. swing — music
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. chip — to eat
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mine — for digging
  11. stem — to come from
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. swing — in golf
  14. dip — to sink
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. present — the time now
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. present — there
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. chip — for betting
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. stem — of a plant

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