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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: straw · rule · march · swing · trunk · game · lash · pit

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. swing — music
  3. game — a match
  4. march — the month
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — in a race
  8. rule — government
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. march — the month
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. march — music
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. swing — in golf
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. swing — to play on
  24. rule — a law

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