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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 120 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: ball · snap · bore · swing · sharp · clip · bay · fall

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fall — the season
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. clip — a video
  6. fall — to drop
  7. swing — to play on
  8. ball — a great time
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. ball — a dance
  11. clip — to cut
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. swing — music
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. clip — for paper
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bore — to drill
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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