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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. fall — the season
  7. race — the arms race
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wound — an injury
  13. race — humankind
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. march — music
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. race — a contest
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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