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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. game — a match
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wind — moving air
  6. field — farmland
  7. rash — hasty
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wind — moving air
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rock — music
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. snap — to click
  15. stand — to bear
  16. field — a subject
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rash — a series
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. field — for sport

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