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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mug — to rob
  4. drill — a practice
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mug — a cup
  11. suit — to fit
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. spring — the season
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. mug — a face
  16. suit — in cards
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spring — of water
  19. ground — a position
  20. wind — moving air
  21. suit — clothes
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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