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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: tear · squash · snap · spring · present · pass · court · swing

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. squash — the sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. swing — music
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spring — of water
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. spring — a coil
  11. present — the time now
  12. court — for sport
  13. swing — in golf
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to click
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pass — a permit
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. swing — to play on
  22. squash — to crush
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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