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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: bay · race · rash · march · coach · lash · chip · fork

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. rash — hasty
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. race — a contest
  7. rash — a series
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. fork — in a road
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. race — humankind
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. march — music
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. chip — for betting

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