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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: bat · ruler · kick · row · lash · file · wind · key

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. row — a line
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. key — the most important part
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. key — in music
  15. kick — in football
  16. wind — moving air
  17. file — a document
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. file — a tool
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bat — the animal
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. kick — a thrill

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