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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · nail · lash · capital · chest · kick · march · fan

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. march — the month
  5. hand — help
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chest — a box
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. march — music
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. march — the month
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — in football
  20. hand — in cards
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. capital — money
  24. fan — a supporter

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