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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 · coach · sharp · face · mark · fall · swing · chest

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. swing — in golf
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. face — part of the head
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. face — to point toward
  8. snap — to click
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. chest — a box
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. swing — to play on
  19. face — to confront
  20. fall — the season
  21. swing — music
  22. mark — a grade
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. coach — a trainer

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