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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. band — a ring
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. band — a music group
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. row — to paddle
  11. scale — in music
  12. ball — a dance
  13. row — a line
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. ball — a great time
  18. scale — size or range
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bat — the animal
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. saw — 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