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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. race — a contest
  5. lean — thin
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. squash — the sport
  9. race — humankind
  10. kid — child
  11. lean — to bend
  12. kid — to tease
  13. race — the arms race
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. season — of the year
  16. cap — a lid
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. cap — of ice
  19. chest — a box
  20. cap — a hat
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. squash — to crush
  24. season — in sport

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