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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: wind · foot · lash · lean · racket · ruler · straw · shower

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. shower — to wash
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lean — thin
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wind — moving air
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. foot — a measure
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. wind — moving air
  24. foot — part of the body

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