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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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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: wind · wound · rash · bat · lash · straw · mark · foot

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. foot — a measure
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. mark — a trace
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mark — a grade
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rash — a series
  24. lash — an eyelash

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