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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: straw · lash · bank · squash · wind · bay · clip · bulb

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bulb — for light
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. squash — to crush
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bank — for money
  8. clip — a video
  9. bank — of a river
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bulb — for light
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bank — for money
  24. clip — for paper

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