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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 · kid · bulb · wave · march · chest · race · cell

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. race — humankind
  4. kid — child
  5. bulb — for light
  6. march — music
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. march — the month
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. race — the arms race
  23. march — the month
  24. chest — a box

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