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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. rock — music
  3. chair — a leader
  4. field — a subject
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. field — for sport
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. field — farmland
  13. bat — the animal
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. lie — to recline
  18. rock — a stone

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