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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: wind · lie · snap · sharp · date · rule · swing · pitcher

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. lie — to recline
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. snap — to click
  9. rule — government
  10. wind — moving air
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wind — moving air
  14. swing — in golf
  15. sharp — clever
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. date — the fruit
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. swing — music
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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