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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: pop · wave · bat · arm · straw · fork · lash · trunk

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. pop — to visit
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pop — soda
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pop — music
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wave — of the sea

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