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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: straw · rash · swing · lash · cap · dip · field · bulb

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. dip — to sink
  3. field — a subject
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. swing — to play on
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. rash — a series
  12. field — farmland
  13. bulb — for light
  14. swing — music
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rash — hasty
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cap — a lid
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. field — for sport
  24. cap — a hat

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