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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 · chest · fan · net · trunk · staff · mate · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. swing — in golf
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. staff — a stick
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — after costs
  9. rash — a series
  10. staff — employees
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. chest — a box
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. mate — a partner
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. swing — music
  17. net — in sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mate — to breed
  20. net — for catching
  21. staff — employees
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. mate — a friend

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