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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 116 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: track · bat · pound · lash · kick · content · race · bank

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bank — of a river
  4. race — humankind
  5. bat — the animal
  6. track — a song
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. track — to keep track
  9. content — the amount
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bank — for money
  14. kick — in football
  15. pound — a weight
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bank — for money
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. content — happy
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. track — a path

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