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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. charge — electricity
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. can — to be able to
  10. march — the month
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. race — the arms race
  15. net — in sport
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. race — humankind
  18. can — a tin
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. race — a contest
  22. charge — in control
  23. march — music
  24. can — a tin

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