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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: club · hand · bay · kid · fall · lash · trunk · wave

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fall — to drop
  7. club — for golf
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fall — to drop
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. hand — help
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. fall — the season
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. club — for dancing
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. club — a 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