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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: staff · racket · kid · lash · present · hand

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. kid — to tease
  3. present — there
  4. present — a gift
  5. hand — help
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. staff — a stick
  11. hand — in cards
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. present — the time now
  14. staff — employees
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. kid — child
  18. staff — employees

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