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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 · fall · net · hide · chest · land · lash · pound

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. net — in sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fall — the season
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. pound — a weight
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. chest — of your body
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. land — to come down
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. net — after costs
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. chest — a box
  19. land — ground
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. net — for catching
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. straw — a straw man

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