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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: chip · last · race · kick · wake · lash · rock · rule

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rule — a law
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. race — the arms race
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. last — to go on
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rock — a stone
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rule — government
  12. chip — to eat
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. race — humankind
  15. last — final
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. chip — for betting
  18. last — finally
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. race — a contest
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. chip — in a computer

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