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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: rash · tear · season · kid · wake · lash · chest · deal

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. kid — child
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. rash — hasty
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rash — a series
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chest — a box
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. tear — from crying
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. deal — to handle
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. tear — from crying

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