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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. board — a committee
  3. net — in sport
  4. club — for dancing
  5. board — to get on
  6. present — there
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. bat — the animal
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. wind — moving air
  13. club — a group
  14. present — a gift
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. club — for golf
  17. net — for catching
  18. present — the time now
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. swing — music
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. net — after costs
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. swing — in golf

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