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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 120 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wax — to grow
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wound — an injury
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. lash — to lash out

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