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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. charge — a price
  6. fall — to drop
  7. kid — to tease
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. court — for sport
  10. race — a contest
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fall — to drop
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — electricity
  17. court — of a king
  18. fall — the season
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. race — the arms race
  21. court — of law
  22. kid — child
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. race — humankind

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