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

Word bank: kick · lash · row · net · rock · chest

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. chest — of your body
  5. row — to paddle
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. net — for catching
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box

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