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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: drill · snap · lash · racket · net · bat · plane · squash

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. drill — a practice
  3. squash — to crush
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. snap — to click
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bat — the animal
  14. squash — the sport
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. drill — army training
  17. net — for catching
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. drill — the tool
  20. net — in sport
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. lash — to lash out

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