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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fall — the season
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. net — for catching
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. net — after costs
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. fall — to drop
  15. spring — a coil
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. net — in sport
  21. spring — of water
  22. fall — to drop
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spring — the season

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