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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 116 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 · cap · field · straw · lean · key · content · row

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. row — a line
  5. field — for sport
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — to bend
  9. field — a subject
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. row — to paddle
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cap — a lid
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. lean — thin
  19. field — farmland
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. key — in music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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