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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. net — in sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. net — after costs
  10. snap — to click
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. net — for catching
  14. wax — to grow
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. field — for sport
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. field — a subject
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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