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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: stock · lash · kid · wound · swing · straw · bass · hand

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bass — the fish
  4. stock — goods
  5. bass — low music
  6. stock — shares
  7. kid — child
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. wound — an injury
  11. swing — in golf
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. wound — an injury
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. swing — music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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