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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: rock · ground · bay · cell · lash · band · spell · straw

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — music
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spell — letters
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. spell — a short time
  10. cell — a phone
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. ground — the earth
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ground — a position
  15. band — a ring
  16. cell — in biology
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. band — a music group
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. spell — magic
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. straw — dry grass

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