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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. ball — a great time
  4. club — for dancing
  5. row — a line
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. row — to paddle
  11. game — wild animals
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bat — the animal
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. ball — a dance
  21. game — a match
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — to lash out

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