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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: can · straw · lash · mug · rash · net · dip · chest

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rash — hasty
  3. dip — to sink
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mug — a cup
  6. can — a tin
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. can — a tin
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. chest — a box
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. mug — to rob
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. rash — a series
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. chest — of your body
  23. can — to be able to
  24. mug — a face

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