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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: fan · lash · foot · current · drill · cold · date · ball

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  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. foot — a measure
  2. date — the fruit
  3. current — electric
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — a practice
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. drill — army training
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a dance
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. current — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. fan — a supporter
  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