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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: kid · file · race · bear · lash · bat · temple · tube

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. race — a contest
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. bat — the animal
  5. tube — a container
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. race — humankind
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bear — the animal
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bear — the animal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. tube — the underground
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. race — the arms race
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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