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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.

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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: bat · rest · lash · ground · rule · spring · kid · stock

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rule — a law
  3. spring — of water
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. spring — a coil
  8. kid — child
  9. rest — a break
  10. ground — a position
  11. stock — goods
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. rest — what's left
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. spring — the season
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stock — shares
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rule — government
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bat — the animal
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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