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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 · chip · tear · snap · cap · roll · pitcher · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. swing — in golf
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cap — a lid
  8. tear — to rip
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. swing — music
  14. cap — of ice
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. cap — a hat
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — for betting
  21. roll — a cake
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. roll — a list
  24. snap — to click

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