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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. rash — hasty
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kid — to tease
  8. march — the month
  9. stand — to bear
  10. tear — from crying
  11. march — the month
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. tear — to rip
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. tear — from crying
  16. kid — child
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. march — music
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. rash — a series
  22. degree — temperature
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. stand — on your feet

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