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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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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: lash · swing · row · trunk · wind · hide · straw · board

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wind — moving air
  9. swing — to play on
  10. board — to get on
  11. row — a line
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — in golf
  17. board — a committee
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. swing — music
  22. row — to paddle
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wind — to turn a key

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