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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: bear · last · bat · swing · present · lean · date · snap

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. swing — in golf
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bear — the animal
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. last — finally
  7. swing — music
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. present — a gift
  11. lean — thin
  12. snap — to click
  13. present — the time now
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bat — the animal
  16. last — to go on
  17. present — there
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. swing — to play on
  23. last — final
  24. date — on the calendar

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