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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 120 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: rash · kick · lash · club · bay · mug · face · field

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. mug — a face
  3. face — to confront
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. kick — in football
  7. club — for golf
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mug — a cup
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. face — part of the head
  13. mug — to rob
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. rash — hasty
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. field — a subject
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. face — to point toward

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