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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. drill — a practice
  3. club — for golf
  4. foot — a measure
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. drill — the tool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. snap — to click
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. saw — the tool
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. drill — army training
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. saw — the tool
  20. club — for dancing
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. mine — for digging
  23. club — a group
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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