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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: bat · squash · sharp · wave · deal · lash · straw · last

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. last — final
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. last — to go on
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. sharp — clever
  14. last — finally
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. squash — the sport
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. deal — to handle

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