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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: face · pass · fork · lash · season · bat · dip · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. face — to point toward
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. season — of the year
  10. face — to confront
  11. season — in sport
  12. face — part of the head
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pass — a permit

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