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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: lash · chair · race · bowl · mark · cap · cold · kid

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mark — a grade
  3. kid — child
  4. mark — a trace
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cap — a lid
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cold — not warm
  17. chair — a leader
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. race — a contest
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. race — humankind
  24. bowl — a dish

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