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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 · chest · cold · sharp · lash · lie · charge · nail

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. sharp — clever
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. chest — of your body
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. charge — in control
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. charge — electricity
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. lie — to recline
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cold — not warm
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. chest — a box
  21. cold — an illness
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. charge — a price

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