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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. drill — the tool
  5. pitch — completely
  6. rest — a break
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rest — what's left
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — army training
  17. fork — in a road
  18. 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