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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: bowl · bore · club · snap · cell · fork · kick · swing

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fork — in a road
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bore — to tire
  6. snap — to click
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. kick — in football
  9. swing — in golf
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. club — for golf
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bore — to drill
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — a group
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. swing — music
  24. bowl — a dish

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