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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: kick · lash · game · dip · kid · wax · straw · stock

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. game — a match
  9. kick — in football
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. kid — to tease
  14. dip — to sink
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stock — shares
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. stock — goods
  19. game — wild animals
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wax — to grow
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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