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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: fork · swing · cue · hand · bowl · cell · snap · race

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. race — humankind
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cue — a signal
  9. swing — music
  10. cue — for pool
  11. swing — in golf
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. snap — to click
  15. hand — help
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cue — a hint
  23. race — a contest
  24. hand — in cards

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