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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. current — electric
  6. current — happening now
  7. drill — army training
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spell — a short time
  10. current — of water
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chair — a leader
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. spell — letters
  20. bat — the animal
  21. spell — magic
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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