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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: chest · bat · staff · pop · saw · lash · rash · season

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. chest — a box
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. season — in sport
  11. rash — hasty
  12. staff — employees
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. staff — employees
  15. chest — of your body
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. rash — a series
  19. season — of the year
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pop — music
  22. staff — a stick
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bat — for baseball

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