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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 · mug · band · snap · degree · squash · pit · cell

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. swing — music
  4. mug — a face
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pit — in a race
  7. squash — to crush
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mug — a cup
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. degree — an amount
  14. band — a ring
  15. swing — in golf
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. degree — temperature
  21. band — a music group
  22. snap — to click
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pit — a hole

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