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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · pop · stock · game · bat · rush · lash · wind

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rush — hurry
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pop — soda
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. stock — goods
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. plane — a tool
  14. stock — shares
  15. pop — to visit
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pop — music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wind — moving air

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