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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. scale — size or range
  3. chair — a leader
  4. club — for dancing
  5. mark — a grade
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. club — for golf
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. club — a group
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. rush — hurry
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. mark — a trace
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. scale — in music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kick — in football
  23. cell — a phone
  24. lash — to lash out

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