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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: stick · cell · spring · lash · fine · row · wave · chest

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. spring — the season
  13. cell — a phone
  14. fine — high quality
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cell — in biology
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. row — a line
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. chest — a box
  22. row — to paddle
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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