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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. row — a line
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. row — to paddle
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. chair — a leader
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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