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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 · chair · can · straw · wound · lie · degree · wake

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. can — a tin
  5. chair — a leader
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wound — an injury
  10. can — a tin
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. wake — a trail
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. can — to be able to
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. straw — dry grass

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