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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 do anything ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. band — a music group
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. band — a ring
  6. squash — the sport
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. court — for sport
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. court — of a king
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. court — of law
  14. squash — to crush
  15. rash — a series
  16. present — a gift
  17. land — ground
  18. last — finally
  19. last — final
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. land — a country
  22. last — to go on
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. land — to come down

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