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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: snap · swing · capital · bat · wind · rock · pop · cue

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bat — the animal
  6. capital — money
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rock — a stone
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wind — moving air
  12. swing — to play on
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — music
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. capital — a city
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pop — soda
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. snap — to click
  21. swing — music
  22. pop — music
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cue — a signal

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