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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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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: swing · cold · lash · board · mark · face · prune · ball

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. swing — music
  6. board — to get on
  7. mark — a trace
  8. cold — not warm
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. prune — to trim
  13. swing — in golf
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. board — a committee
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. face — part of the head
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. mark — a grade

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