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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 116 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: cap · pass · swing · kid · content · last · prune · snap

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. last — to go on
  4. pass — a permit
  5. swing — music
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — the amount
  8. snap — to click
  9. prune — to trim
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. kid — child
  13. content — happy
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. swing — to play on
  18. cap — of ice
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. swing — in golf

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