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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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: bat · pop · lash · kid · spring · club · net · object

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. spring — a coil
  3. net — for catching
  4. club — a group
  5. pop — soda
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. net — after costs
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pop — to visit
  11. club — for golf
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bat — the animal
  14. object — a thing
  15. spring — of water
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — to protest
  22. spring — the season
  23. net — in sport
  24. pop — music

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