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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. rush — hurry
  9. field — for sport
  10. bass — low music
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. firm — a company
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. firm — decided
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. firm — steady
  21. bass — the fish
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. hand — in cards

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