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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: current · mine · fan · swing · board · bat · kid · straw

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  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. kid — child
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bat — the animal
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. swing — music
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. swing — to play on
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. board — a committee
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. current — electric
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. current — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  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