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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: face · stem · wound · row · lean · chest · club · lash

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. club — for golf
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lean — thin
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. row — a line
  13. club — for dancing
  14. face — to point toward
  15. club — a group
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. face — to confront
  18. chest — a box
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. face — part of the head
  23. row — a quarrel
  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