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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. net — in sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. race — a contest
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bear — the animal
  10. race — the arms race
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. race — humankind
  13. net — after costs
  14. shower — rain
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chest — a box
  17. bear — the animal
  18. net — for catching
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. shower — to wash
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chair — a professorship

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