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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. toast — bread
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. content — the amount
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. content — happy
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. bat — the animal
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. sharp — clever
  24. content — videos and posts

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