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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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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: kick · lash · pitch · bark · fork · bat · dip · rush

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fork — in a road
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rush — hurry
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. dip — to sink
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. kick — in football
  24. pitch — completely

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