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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bark — to shout
  3. game — a match
  4. rest — a break
  5. kid — child
  6. rest — what's left
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. race — humankind
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. rest — what's left
  13. game — wild animals
  14. race — the arms race
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. race — a contest
  18. bark — of a tree

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