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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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Word bank
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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: wound · mug · game · bear · rash · club · lash · cell

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bear — the animal
  4. club — for golf
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bear — the animal
  8. club — a group
  9. cell — a phone
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mug — to rob
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mug — a face
  21. game — a match
  22. rash — a series
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. club — for dancing

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