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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 · face · race · lash · kid · rash · game · squash

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. race — humankind
  4. game — a match
  5. squash — to crush
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. spell — letters
  9. kid — to tease
  10. squash — the sport
  11. rash — a series
  12. kid — child
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. face — to confront
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rash — hasty

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