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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 · fall · scale · kid · march · charge · pitcher · rest

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. rest — what's left
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. charge — electricity
  7. fall — to drop
  8. scale — size or range
  9. rest — a break
  10. charge — in control
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. kid — to tease
  13. fall — the season
  14. charge — a price
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. fall — to drop
  19. march — the month
  20. scale — in music
  21. kid — child
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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