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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 116 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. land — ground
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. field — a subject
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kick — in football
  16. field — farmland
  17. capital — money
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — for sport
  20. capital — a city
  21. land — to come down
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. land — a country

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