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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. spring — a coil
  3. firm — decided
  4. field — a subject
  5. wind — moving air
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. field — for sport
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. spring — the season
  11. firm — a company
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. field — farmland
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. spring — of water
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a great time
  23. wind — moving air
  24. firm — steady

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