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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · rash · lash · saw · race · mate · land · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. race — a contest
  3. mate — a partner
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mate — a friend
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. net — in sport
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rash — a series
  11. land — a country
  12. race — humankind
  13. land — ground
  14. net — after costs
  15. saw — the tool
  16. net — for catching
  17. land — to come down
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. mate — to breed
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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