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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. object — a thing
  3. kid — child
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rash — hasty
  8. march — music
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rash — a series
  13. object — to protest
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. stem — to come from
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. object — an aim
  19. march — the month
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. march — the month
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. saw — the tool

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