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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: wave · bat · straw · ruler · chest · lash · fine · cell

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. cell — a phone
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. bat — the animal
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cell — in biology
  23. chest — a box
  24. lash — to lash out

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