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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: mark · lash · straw · plane · bound · last · drill · pop

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bound — obliged
  3. drill — the tool
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. drill — army training
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — soda
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bound — certain
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. last — finally
  14. plane — a tool
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bound — tied together
  18. drill — a practice
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. last — final
  21. pop — music
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. last — to go on

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