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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · wind · stem · kid · ruler · lash

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bat — the animal
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kid — child
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. stem — of a plant

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