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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 120 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 · chest · swing · mark · cabinet · lash · straw · cap

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cap — of ice
  5. mark — a trace
  6. chest — a box
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. swing — in golf
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stock — shares
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cap — a lid
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a grade
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. stock — goods
  24. swing — music

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