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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: nail · swing · wound · bat · rash · row · charge · squash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. row — a line
  3. rash — a series
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bat — the animal
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. charge — a price
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. swing — music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. squash — to crush
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. charge — in control
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. charge — electricity

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