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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. can — a tin
  5. file — a tool
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pit — a hole
  8. court — for sport
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. field — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. pitch — completely
  15. file — a document
  16. field — a subject
  17. can — to be able to
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. file — a line of people
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. can — a tin
  22. field — farmland
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. court — of a king

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