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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: tear · shower · ball · deal · snap · swing · coach · mark

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. tear — from crying
  3. swing — in golf
  4. shower — rain
  5. mark — a grade
  6. ball — a dance
  7. tear — to rip
  8. swing — music
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. deal — to handle
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ball — a great time
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. swing — to play on
  24. mark — a trace

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