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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bat — the animal
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — in a road
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. vault — a safe
  22. squash — to crush
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. dip — to sink

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