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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 116 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: mine · swing · cold · pop · cap · wound · lash · board

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mine — for digging
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. swing — in golf
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cap — a hat
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. pop — music
  19. board — a committee
  20. swing — music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. board — to get on

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