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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: can · swing · rash · squash · wind · chest · chip · snap

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. can — a tin
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. swing — music
  10. chest — a box
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chip — for betting
  15. can — a tin
  16. chest — of your body
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rash — a series
  19. squash — to crush
  20. can — to be able to
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. wind — moving air
  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