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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pop · bat · swing · rash · lash · nail · coach · march

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. rash — hasty
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. pop — to visit
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. march — the month
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. swing — in golf
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bat — the animal
  24. march — music

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