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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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Word bank
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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 · lie · temple · straw · swing · row · snap · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. row — a line
  4. swing — to play on
  5. spring — of water
  6. swing — music
  7. snap — to click
  8. lie — to recline
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. board — to get on
  13. spring — the season
  14. row — to paddle
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. swing — in golf
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — a flat piece

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