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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: chair · track · deal · rash · straw · drill · lash · kid

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. rash — hasty
  7. chair — a leader
  8. drill — a practice
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rash — a series
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. track — a path
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. deal — to handle
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. track — to keep track
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. track — a song

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