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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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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: swing · stick · drill · shower · straw · sharp · lash · wake

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. drill — the tool
  7. swing — music
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wake — a trail
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. swing — to play on
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. drill — a practice
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. swing — in golf
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. drill — army training
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. straw — dry grass

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