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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: club · tear · rock · lash · degree · race · coach · charge

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. charge — a price
  11. charge — electricity
  12. rock — a stone
  13. club — for dancing
  14. tear — from crying
  15. club — a group
  16. rock — music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. club — for golf
  20. tear — from crying
  21. race — the arms race
  22. charge — in control
  23. tear — to rip
  24. coach — a trainer

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