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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. kid — to tease
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. field — for sport
  8. chip — for betting
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. race — a contest
  11. field — a subject
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. hand — in cards
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. field — farmland
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. kid — child
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. race — humankind

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