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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. chest — of your body
  8. season — of the year
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. season — in sport
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chest — of your body
  20. dip — to sink
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. chest — a box
  24. season — to add flavour

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