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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: staff · stick · dip · toast · lash · pitcher · mine · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. staff — employees
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. toast — bread
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. dip — to sink
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. staff — employees
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. staff — a stick
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. lash — an eyelash

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