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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 120 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. pop — to visit
  4. field — for sport
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. tube — a container
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. field — a subject
  9. pop — music
  10. tube — the underground
  11. chair — a leader
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. spell — letters
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. spell — a short time
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — farmland
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pop — soda
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. cell — a phone
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. spell — magic

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