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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 120 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: face · kid · rest · spring · pitch · snap · swing · prune

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. kid — child
  8. rest — what's left
  9. prune — to trim
  10. face — to point toward
  11. spring — the season
  12. prune — to trim
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rest — a break
  15. swing — in golf
  16. face — part of the head
  17. pitch — completely
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. face — to confront
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. kid — to tease

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