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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mate — to breed
  3. march — the month
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mate — a friend
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. march — music
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. stem — to come from
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. hand — in cards
  15. last — to go on
  16. race — humankind
  17. march — the month
  18. mate — a partner
  19. race — a contest
  20. rush — hurry
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. hand — help
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rush — a thrill

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