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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: field · lash · hand · race · bat · stick · straw · rock

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. field — for sport
  4. hand — in cards
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. hand — help
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. race — humankind
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. field — farmland
  17. rock — music
  18. field — a subject
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. rock — a stone
  24. straw — a straw man

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