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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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Word bank
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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: fan · rash · wound · bat · stock · lash

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rash — a series
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stock — goods
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. rash — hasty
  18. lash — an eyelash

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