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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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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: cabinet · arm · bat · march · snap · present · field · lash

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. field — a subject
  3. present — there
  4. march — music
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. field — farmland
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. present — the time now
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bat — the animal
  23. field — for sport
  24. present — a gift

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