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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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Word bank
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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: wound · swing · mine · stock · snap · wake · plane · cell

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. stock — goods
  11. snap — to click
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stock — shares
  16. swing — in golf
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cell — in a prison

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