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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: mine · drill · arm · straw · plane · lash · rule · season

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. rule — a law
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. mine — for digging
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. season — of the year
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. drill — a practice
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. rule — government
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. drill — army training
  21. plane — a tool
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. season — in sport
  24. drill — the tool

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