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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: bat · snap · swing · lean · lash · present · wound · bound

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. lean — thin
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bat — the animal
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. swing — in golf
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — there
  12. present — the time now
  13. bound — certain
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bound — obliged
  17. snap — to click
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. wound — an injury
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bound — tied together
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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