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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. kid — to tease
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. kid — child
  15. cell — a phone
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. sharp — clever
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. stock — goods

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