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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pitch — completely
  4. clip — for paper
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the sport
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — thin

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