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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: last · pitcher · bark · bat · kid · lash · bore · pit

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. bore — to drill
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bark — to shout
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. last — finally
  12. pit — a hole
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bore — to tire
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bark — of a tree

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