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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. band — a ring
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. band — a music group
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — to tease
  8. hand — in cards
  9. rest — what's left
  10. kid — child
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. rest — a break
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. hand — help
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitch — completely
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. rest — what's left

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