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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: swing · cell · wound · wake · fork · lash · straw · bark

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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