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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: pound · lash · race · club · cold · chest · bank · lie

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. bank — for money
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. race — a contest
  5. bank — of a river
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chest — of your body
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — a group
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bank — for money
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. chest — a box
  20. race — the arms race
  21. club — for golf
  22. race — humankind
  23. lie — to recline
  24. cold — the Cold War

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