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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. shower — rain
  3. hand — in cards
  4. capital — a city
  5. row — to paddle
  6. hand — help
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. race — the arms race
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. race — a contest
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. kid — to tease
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. kid — child
  22. row — a line
  23. race — humankind
  24. racket — for tennis

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