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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: straw · saw · scale · race · nail · plane · court · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. court — for sport
  3. race — the arms race
  4. saw — the tool
  5. race — humankind
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. court — of law
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. scale — size or range
  12. plane — a tool
  13. court — of a king
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. scale — in music
  16. saw — the tool
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. race — a contest
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. nail — on a finger

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