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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: craft · bowl · key · lash · club · clip · bass · straw

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. craft — boats
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bass — the fish
  6. key — in music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. clip — for paper
  11. craft — a skill
  12. club — a group
  13. clip — a video
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. club — for golf
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. key — for a lock
  21. clip — to cut
  22. key — the most important part
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bass — low music

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