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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: rest · game · fall · mug · kid · kick · lash · rash

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. game — a match
  4. mug — a face
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rest — a break
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. rest — what's left
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. kid — to tease
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fall — the season
  17. rash — a series
  18. mug — a cup
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mug — to rob
  23. kick — in football
  24. rash — hasty

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