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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: track · net · straw · wave · cell · march · foot · lash

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. net — in sport
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. track — a path
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. track — a song
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cell — in biology
  15. foot — a measure
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. net — for catching
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. net — after costs
  24. wave — of the sea

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