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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 · chair · snap · rush · wind · ball · rest · pop

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. swing — music
  5. pop — soda
  6. ball — a dance
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rest — what's left
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chair — a leader
  11. ball — a great time
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. swing — in golf
  20. pop — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. pop — to visit

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