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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: lash · fork · cold · row · lie · roll · pop · trunk

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lie — to recline
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. row — to paddle
  7. roll — a cake
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pop — to visit
  18. roll — a list
  19. row — a line
  20. fork — in a road
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cold — the Cold War

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