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

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. field — farmland
  10. mate — a partner
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bat — the animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mate — a friend
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. mate — to breed
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. rush — to hurry

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