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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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. band — a music group
  4. wake — a trail
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. rest — what's left
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bat — the animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. rest — a break
  17. tear — from crying
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rest — what's left
  22. band — a ring
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. tear — from crying

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