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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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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: rock · cabinet · lash · sharp · content · bat · field · mouse

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. field — farmland
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rock — music
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. field — for sport
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. field — a subject
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. rock — a stone
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. content — the amount
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. lash — to lash out

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