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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 · bore · fall · cabinet · cold · chest · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. swing — music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cold — not warm
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. board — to get on
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. board — a committee
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chest — a box
  22. bore — to drill
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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