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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 · lie · wind · dip · lash · lean · rule · game

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. race — the arms race
  7. dip — to sink
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. lie — to recline
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wind — moving air
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lean — thin
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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