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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: arm · cap · race · lash · stick · press · deal · rash

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. race — humankind
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — newspapers
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cap — a hat
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. deal — to handle
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. race — a contest
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cap — a lid
  19. press — to push
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. race — the arms race

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