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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: rest · lash · patient · temple · hand · present · fan · straw

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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 — to lash out
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rest — what's left
  4. hand — help
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. rest — what's left
  11. present — a gift
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rest — a break
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. present — the time now
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. present — there
  23. hand — in cards
  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