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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: race · bat · lie · chest · deal · fork · row · lash

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chest — a box
  5. row — a line
  6. fork — in a road
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. chest — of your body
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. race — humankind
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. deal — to handle
  22. row — to paddle
  23. race — a contest
  24. chest — of your body

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