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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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Word bank
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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: cold · tube · racket · mug · lash · chest · lie · straw

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. cold — not warm
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mug — a cup
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. chest — a box
  10. tube — a container
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. lie — to recline
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mug — a face
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. tube — the underground
  23. mug — to rob
  24. racket — for tennis

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