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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. swing — in golf
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. current — electric
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — the animal
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — to get on
  15. current — of water
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. swing — music
  21. clip — to cut
  22. current — happening now
  23. clip — a video
  24. bat — in an idiom

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