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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: jam · ground · swing · wind · snap · season · rest · date

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. swing — to play on
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. season — in sport
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wind — moving air
  7. snap — to click
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wind — moving air
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. ground — a position
  13. date — the fruit
  14. season — of the year
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. ground — crushed
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. ground — the earth
  23. rest — a break
  24. date — on the calendar

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