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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: saw · drill · straw · craft · swing · scale · chest · lash

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. swing — in golf
  3. craft — boats
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. saw — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chest — a box
  11. swing — to play on
  12. craft — a skill
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. saw — the tool
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. drill — the tool
  19. swing — music
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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