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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: lash · pass · chest · degree · race · kid · toast · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. degree — temperature
  4. kid — child
  5. race — the arms race
  6. chest — of your body
  7. race — a contest
  8. chest — a box
  9. race — humankind
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. pass — a permit
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. chest — of your body
  18. toast — bread
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. kid — to tease

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