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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: temple · row · kick · ground · fan · straw · track · lash

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ground — a position
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. kick — in football
  8. track — a song
  9. track — to keep track
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ground — the earth
  12. track — a path
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ground — crushed
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. fan — to cool the air

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