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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: lash · wind · cell · board · straw · drill · spell · trunk

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cell — in biology
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. spell — magic
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. board — a committee
  17. cell — a phone
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. board — to get on
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. drill — army training
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — a short time

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