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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — a weight
  6. drill — a practice
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mate — to breed
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. drill — the tool
  16. mate — a friend
  17. bat — the animal
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. drill — army training
  20. wound — an injury
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. racket — a loud noise

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