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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 · arm · mine · kick · rash · land · rest · race

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. rest — a break
  3. kick — in football
  4. rash — hasty
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. land — ground
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. rest — what's left
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. race — the arms race
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. land — a country
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. race — humankind
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rash — a series
  21. mine — for digging
  22. race — a contest
  23. land — to come down
  24. rest — what's left

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