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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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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: dip · sharp · lash · kid · rest · bat · field · stock

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — for sport
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rest — a break
  8. field — farmland
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. field — a subject
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. kid — child
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rest — what's left
  24. lash — an eyelash

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