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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. board — to get on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. chip — to eat
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. pound — a weight
  11. wound — an injury
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. swing — to play on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wake — a trail
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. board — a committee
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chip — for betting

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