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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: spell · game · lash · race · shower · wind · last · suit

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. suit — in cards
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. spell — letters
  6. last — final
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — finally
  9. shower — rain
  10. last — to go on
  11. spell — a short time
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. race — the arms race
  14. spell — magic
  15. race — a contest
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — to wash
  18. game — a match
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. suit — to fit
  21. race — humankind
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. suit — clothes

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