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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: lash · fan · bat · net · pit · mine · tube · saw

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pit — a hole
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. saw — the tool
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. net — in sport
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. net — after costs
  19. tube — the underground
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. tube — a container
  23. net — for catching
  24. mine — for digging

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