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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: spell · lash · field · kid · bat · shower · spring · stick

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. shower — rain
  3. spell — letters
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — a subject
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kid — child
  9. field — for sport
  10. spell — a short time
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spell — magic
  16. spring — the season
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. field — farmland
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. spring — of water
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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