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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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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: racket · band · bat · hide · bark · hand · pitcher · lash

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bat — the animal
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. hand — help
  9. bark — to shout
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. band — a music group
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. band — a ring
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bark — of a tree

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