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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · bat · arm · hand · season · drill · wind · rash

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. rash — a series
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. hand — in cards
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. drill — army training
  11. bat — the animal
  12. season — of the year
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wind — moving air
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. season — in sport
  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