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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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468
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: wave · lash · straw · bark · chip · stem · ball · hand

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. hand — help
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. chip — to eat
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bark — to shout
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. stem — to come from
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. chip — for betting

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