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

Word bank: season · squash · lash · rule · race · kick

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. squash — the sport
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. race — a contest
  5. season — of the year
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. rule — a law
  9. race — the arms race
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. season — in sport
  12. rule — government
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. race — humankind
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. kick — in football

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