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

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. swing — in golf
  3. scale — in music
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lean — thin
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. swing — music
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lean — to bend
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. row — a line
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — a trace
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wound — an injury
  24. row — to paddle

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