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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mark · hand · chest · deal · ball · lash

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. hand — help
  3. chest — of your body
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. ball — a great time
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. chest — a box
  9. mark — a trace
  10. ball — a dance
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. deal — to handle
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. mark — a grade
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. deal — an agreement

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