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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: suit · race · rash · squash · spring · mate · chair · kick

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. suit — in cards
  3. race — the arms race
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mate — a partner
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rash — hasty
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. race — humankind
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. suit — to fit
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. squash — the sport
  18. kick — in football
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. squash — to crush
  21. suit — clothes
  22. spring — of water
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rash — a series

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