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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. race — the arms race
  3. rush — hurry
  4. spell — letters
  5. race — a contest
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. key — in music
  8. object — an aim
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spell — magic
  13. object — to protest
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. object — a thing
  21. bat — the animal
  22. race — humankind
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spell — a short time

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