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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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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 · cold · bowl · sharp · club · swing · lash · hide

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. cold — an illness
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. swing — music
  17. club — for dancing
  18. sharp — clever
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. club — a group
  21. swing — in golf
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. swing — to play on
  24. hide — to keep secret

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