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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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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: bank · rock · lash · swing · chest · straw · mine · mark

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rock — music
  5. mark — a trace
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bank — for money
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rock — a stone
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. chest — a box
  17. swing — music
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. bank — of a river
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — in golf

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