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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bat — the animal
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mate — a partner
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mate — a friend
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spring — the season
  16. squash — to crush
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mate — to breed
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. squash — the sport
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. spring — of water

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