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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: lash · arm · wound · craft · drill · bat · deal · rash

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. drill — the tool
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. craft — a skill
  13. rash — a series
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. drill — a practice
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. drill — army training

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