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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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468
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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bass — low music
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. swing — to play on
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. swing — music
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. row — a line
  24. straw — dry grass

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