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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: track · straw · bay · band · wake · wound · face · lash

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. track — a path
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wake — a trail
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. track — a song
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. track — to keep track
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. face — to confront
  22. band — a ring
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. band — a music group

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