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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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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: ground · lash · snap · foot · bat · pitcher · tear · kid

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. foot — a measure
  8. kid — child
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. snap — to click
  13. ground — a position
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. tear — to rip
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. kid — to tease
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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