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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: swing · row · fork · wave · snap · squash · safe · net

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. squash — to crush
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. swing — music
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. swing — to play on
  11. net — after costs
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — in a road
  14. squash — the sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. net — in sport

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