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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: race · present · chair · season · lean · shower · lash · wound

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. chair — a leader
  3. race — a contest
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. season — in sport
  7. lean — thin
  8. race — the arms race
  9. shower — to wash
  10. present — a gift
  11. shower — rain
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. race — humankind
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. season — of the year
  18. present — the time now
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. lean — to bend
  24. present — there

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