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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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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: lash · last · tube · swing · net · race · rash · club

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. club — a group
  5. net — in sport
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. net — for catching
  8. last — final
  9. race — a contest
  10. swing — to play on
  11. tube — the underground
  12. rash — hasty
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. tube — a container
  15. net — after costs
  16. rash — a series
  17. club — for dancing
  18. swing — in golf
  19. club — for golf
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. swing — music
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. race — the arms race

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