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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: hand · court · pitcher · stem · date · bank · dip · lash

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bank — of a river
  5. court — of a king
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. date — the fruit
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. court — for sport
  10. bank — for money
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — to come from
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bank — for money
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. dip — to sink
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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