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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. kid — child
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. mark — a trace
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rash — hasty
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. mark — a grade
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. rash — a series
  17. branch — a division
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. coach — a trainer

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