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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: board · swing · stick · lash · degree · row · spring · craft

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. board — a committee
  3. craft — boats
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. spring — of water
  9. craft — a skill
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. swing — to play on
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. row — to paddle
  16. swing — in golf
  17. degree — from a university
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. swing — music
  21. spring — the season
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. board — to get on
  24. spring — a coil

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