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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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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: kick · rest · band · chest · racket · lash · mate · bass

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bass — low music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kick — in football
  8. mate — to breed
  9. rest — a break
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. mate — a friend
  12. chest — a box
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. band — a music group
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. band — a ring
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chest — of your body

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