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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 · chest · wound · kick · lash · cabinet · wake · root

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. root — the cause
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. kick — in football
  18. chest — a box
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wake — a trail
  24. chest — of your body

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