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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 120 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: march · lash · club · cold · racket · chest · rash · object

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rash — a series
  3. club — for dancing
  4. object — an aim
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. club — a group
  7. rash — hasty
  8. object — a thing
  9. club — for golf
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. chest — a box
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. chest — of your body
  16. march — music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. object — to protest
  21. cold — not warm
  22. march — the month
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. lash — to lash out

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