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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rest — what's left
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. scale — in music
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. plane — a tool
  10. rush — hurry
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. race — humankind
  13. rest — a break
  14. hand — in cards
  15. race — a contest
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rest — what's left
  18. race — the arms race
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. scale — size or range
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. row — a line
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. plane — an aircraft

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