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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. swing — music
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. swing — to play on
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cap — a lid
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. swing — in golf
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cap — of ice
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cap — a hat
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. board — a committee
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. file — a document
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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