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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: squash · net · race · kick · capital · date · last · lash

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. last — finally
  4. squash — the sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. last — final
  7. kick — in football
  8. capital — a city
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. last — to go on
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. race — the arms race
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — humankind
  21. net — for catching
  22. squash — to crush
  23. net — in sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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