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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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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: mug · wound · deal · fall · swing · roll · board · row

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. mug — a cup
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wound — an injury
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. board — a committee
  7. row — a line
  8. roll — a list
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wound — an injury
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mug — a face
  20. roll — a cake
  21. swing — to play on
  22. mug — to rob
  23. fall — the season
  24. row — to paddle

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