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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. rule — a law
  8. field — farmland
  9. stem — to come from
  10. hand — in cards
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. field — for sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. hand — help
  18. rule — government
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. ground — a position
  24. lash — an eyelash

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