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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: firm · chest · stem · straw · clip · rock · club · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. club — for golf
  6. chest — a box
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. club — a group
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rock — a stone
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. clip — to cut
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — a company
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rock — music
  18. firm — decided
  19. chest — of your body
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. clip — a video
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. stem — to come from

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