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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: kid · lash · cold · rash · tube · cabinet · race · ground

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. rash — a series
  9. kid — child
  10. ground — the earth
  11. tube — a container
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. tube — the underground
  14. ground — crushed
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ground — a position
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. kid — to tease
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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