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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: lash · chest · fork · bank · field · shower · arm · hand

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. field — a subject
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bank — for money
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bank — for money
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. fork — in a road
  13. field — farmland
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. chest — of your body
  18. shower — rain
  19. bank — of a river
  20. shower — to wash
  21. field — for sport
  22. chest — a box
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. chest — of your body

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