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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. kid — to tease
  3. race — the arms race
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. hand — in cards
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. race — humankind
  9. kid — child
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. plane — a tool
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. race — a contest
  19. stock — goods
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. hand — help
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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