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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.

Words on the sheet
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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. march — the month
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rash — a series
  6. net — for catching
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. field — a subject
  9. mug — to rob
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. net — in sport
  13. mug — a face
  14. field — for sport
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. rash — hasty
  19. field — farmland
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. net — after costs
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mug — a cup
  24. lash — to lash out

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