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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: board · cold · straw · snap · content · ruler · club · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. club — a group
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. board — to get on
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. content — the amount
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. content — happy
  15. board — a committee
  16. snap — to click
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. club — for golf
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  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