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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 120 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: club · saw · shower · arm · face · lash · race · land

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. club — for golf
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. race — the arms race
  9. face — part of the head
  10. club — a group
  11. shower — to wash
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. race — a contest
  16. club — for dancing
  17. land — to come down
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. face — to confront
  20. land — ground
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. face — to point toward
  23. land — a country
  24. shower — rain

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