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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: swing · lash · club · stick · cold · bat · wake · safe

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bat — the animal
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — not warm
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. club — a group
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. swing — to play on
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. club — for golf
  21. wake — a trail
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. swing — music
  24. club — for dancing

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