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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. net — in sport
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. can — a tin
  12. kid — child
  13. band — a music group
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. band — a ring
  20. cell — in biology
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. court — of a king
  23. net — for catching
  24. cell — a phone

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