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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. spring — the season
  4. lie — to recline
  5. swing — to play on
  6. field — a subject
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. spring — a coil
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. row — a line
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. field — farmland
  17. swing — music
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. row — to paddle
  21. spring — of water
  22. swing — in golf
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. field — for sport

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