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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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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: club · wound · swing · bat · snap · straw · pass · mate

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. swing — in golf
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mate — a friend
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. swing — to play on
  9. club — a group
  10. snap — to click
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. club — for golf
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. swing — music
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — the animal
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. club — for dancing
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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