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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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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: kick · drill · rule · hide · march · bat · lash · safe

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. march — the month
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. rule — a law
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — a practice
  14. march — music
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. drill — army training
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — in football
  22. rule — government
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. bat — in an idiom

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