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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: date · drill · fall · face · bat · mine · lash · chip

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. face — to confront
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. face — to point toward
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. chip — for betting
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bat — the animal
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fall — the season
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. chip — to eat
  23. fall — to drop
  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