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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cold — an illness
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. spell — a short time
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. spell — letters
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. field — for sport
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. spell — magic
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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