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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 120 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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. court — of a king
  3. swing — music
  4. field — farmland
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. fine — all right
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — for sport
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. plane — a tool
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. court — of law
  15. swing — to play on
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. chest — of your body
  18. field — a subject
  19. fine — high quality
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. swing — in golf
  22. chest — a box
  23. field — for sport
  24. plane — in geometry

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