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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: straw · chest · wave · row · sharp · lash · bay · last

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. last — final
  6. sharp — clever
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. row — a line
  11. last — to go on
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. chest — a box
  20. last — finally
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. chest — of your body

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