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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: saw · swing · sharp · stick · board · bat · bore · cold

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cold — not warm
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. swing — to play on
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bore — to tire
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. cold — an illness
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bore — to drill
  12. saw — the tool
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. saw — the tool
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a committee
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. sharp — clever
  21. swing — music
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bat — the animal
  24. sharp — exactly

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