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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kick — in football
  3. season — of the year
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cell — a phone
  8. season — in sport
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. craft — a skill
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cell — in biology
  18. craft — boats
  19. ball — a dance
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. cell — in a prison

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