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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 124 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 ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. rule — government
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — a tool
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rule — a law
  17. game — wild animals
  18. hand — in cards
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. hand — help
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rash — a series
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rash — hasty

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