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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: mine · straw · chest · scale · swing · pass · lash · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mine — for digging
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pass — a permit
  9. mate — to breed
  10. scale — in music
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. swing — music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. swing — in golf
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. swing — to play on
  23. mate — a partner
  24. pass — to spend time

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