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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: cue · lash · chest · stick · mate · race · field · roll

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. field — a subject
  5. chest — a box
  6. cue — a signal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. cue — a hint
  12. mate — a friend
  13. field — for sport
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — a cake
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. field — farmland
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. mate — a partner
  21. race — a contest
  22. cue — for pool
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. mate — to breed

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