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

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. field — farmland
  3. race — humankind
  4. field — a subject
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. suit — to fit
  9. race — a contest
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. chair — a leader
  14. field — for sport
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. suit — clothes
  17. race — the arms race
  18. content — the amount
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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