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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: date · snap · wave · degree · swing · saw · racket · drill

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. degree — from a university
  12. date — the fruit
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. degree — temperature
  15. swing — music
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. swing — in golf
  18. drill — army training
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. drill — the tool
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. swing — to play on
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. degree — an amount

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