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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: lash · hide · court · race · band · mouse · object · fall

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fall — to drop
  3. race — the arms race
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. band — a ring
  9. object — a thing
  10. object — an aim
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. race — humankind
  14. object — to protest
  15. race — a contest
  16. court — of law
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. band — a music group
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. fall — the season
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. court — of a king

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