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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: lash · wound · mug · chest · hand · kid · bay · race

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. hand — help
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. kid — child
  7. mug — a face
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. race — humankind
  15. hand — in cards
  16. kid — to tease
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. mug — to rob
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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