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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bass — low music
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. pound — a weight
  11. last — to go on
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. field — farmland
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. field — for sport
  16. last — final
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. game — wild animals
  22. board — a committee
  23. field — a subject
  24. last — finally

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