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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · board · swing · bat · pit · nail · spring · clip

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bat — the animal
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. face — to confront
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. spring — the season
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. spring — of water
  14. clip — to cut
  15. spring — a coil
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. face — part of the head
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. swing — music
  23. board — to get on
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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