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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bat — the animal
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. band — a ring
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. net — in sport
  16. craft — a skill
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kick — in football
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kid — child
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. craft — boats
  23. band — a music group
  24. fall — the season

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