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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: lash · kid · face · object · content · spell · stock · race

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — an aim
  3. face — part of the head
  4. content — happy
  5. spell — letters
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — to confront
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. race — humankind
  13. object — a thing
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. content — the amount
  17. kid — child
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. kid — to tease
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. stock — goods
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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