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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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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: hand · kid · lash · wake · march · pit · scale · rest

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. scale — size or range
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. rest — what's left
  6. march — the month
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. hand — in cards
  10. march — the month
  11. scale — in music
  12. hand — help
  13. kid — to tease
  14. march — music
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. kid — child
  18. rest — a break
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. rest — what's left
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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