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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: craft · file · date · arm · pitch · hand · straw · lash

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. date — the fruit
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. file — a document
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. pitch — completely
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a tool
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. hand — in cards
  18. craft — a skill
  19. hand — help
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. craft — boats

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