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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. saw — the tool
  4. race — humankind
  5. kid — to tease
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lean — to bend
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. track — a song
  13. game — wild animals
  14. kid — child
  15. track — a path
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. race — a contest
  19. lean — thin
  20. race — the arms race
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bat — the animal
  24. track — to keep track

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