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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: hand · straw · stand · bark · court · trunk · spell · lash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. hand — in cards
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. spell — magic
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. spell — a short time
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. hand — help
  16. bark — to shout
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. court — of law
  22. spell — letters
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. stand — to bear

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