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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. march — the month
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. mine — for digging
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. race — a contest
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. chair — a leader
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. race — humankind
  17. swing — music
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. swing — to play on
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. race — the arms race
  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