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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: bass · straw · board · shower · stick · nail · swing · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bass — the fish
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. kid — to tease
  5. swing — in golf
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. shower — rain
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bass — low music
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. board — a committee
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. shower — to wash
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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