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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: stock · hand · band · snap · rush · swing · chair · dip

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. dip — to sink
  3. snap — to click
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stock — shares
  7. chair — a leader
  8. rush — hurry
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. stock — goods
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — music
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. band — a rubber band

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