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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.

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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rash — hasty
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. rash — a series
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fork — in a road
  15. mine — for digging
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. date — the fruit
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. rash — on the skin

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