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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 120 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: present · club · rock · chest · wind · straw · lash · temple

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — a group
  7. present — there
  8. wind — moving air
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. rock — music
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. rock — a stone
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chest — of your body
  18. present — the time now
  19. chest — a box
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. present — a gift
  22. club — for dancing
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. temple — side of the head

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