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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: rock · spell · kid · face · wind · arm · lash · spring

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rock — a stone
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spell — a short time
  5. kid — child
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spell — magic
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spell — letters
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. spring — the season
  13. face — to confront
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rock — music
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. spring — of water

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