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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: lash · hand · pound · straw · face · wind · coach · tear

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pound — a weight
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. tear — from crying

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