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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: march · snap · swing · spell · fork · saw · arm · chip

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. spell — a short time
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chip — to eat
  14. swing — in golf
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. swing — music
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. chip — for betting
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. fork — in a road
  24. swing — to play on

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