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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: bear · lash · coach · date · row · swing · snap · mine

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. row — a line
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. swing — to play on
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. snap — to click
  16. bear — the animal
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. mine — for digging
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. bear — the animal

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