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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · lash · bark · coach · chair · spring · ball · fall

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. ball — a dance
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bark — to shout
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ball — a great time
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spring — of water
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spring — the season
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spring — a coil

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