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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.

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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: straw · lash · race · swing · stock · tear

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — in golf
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. race — humankind
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. stock — shares
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. race — a contest
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stock — goods
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. swing — music
  15. tear — to rip
  16. race — the arms race
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lash — a whip stroke

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