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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 · kick · cap · content · nail · fall · wound · lash

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kick — in football
  3. fall — the season
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cap — a lid
  7. fall — to drop
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cap — of ice
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cap — a hat
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bat — in an idiom

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