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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 · land · wind · content · club · snap · chip · rest

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. rest — what's left
  6. chip — for betting
  7. land — ground
  8. content — happy
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. content — the amount
  12. club — a group
  13. land — to come down
  14. wind — moving air
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. club — for golf
  18. swing — music
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. land — a country
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wind — moving air
  24. club — for dancing

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