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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: race · lash · bat · mug · date · sharp · fork · cabinet

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. race — humankind
  11. mug — a face
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mug — a cup
  14. fork — in a road
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. date — the fruit
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bat — for baseball

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