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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: hand · roll · swing · lash · club · spring · shower · row

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. swing — in golf
  3. club — a group
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spring — the season
  6. row — to paddle
  7. spring — of water
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. swing — music
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. club — for dancing
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a cake
  17. row — a line
  18. swing — to play on
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. spring — a coil
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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