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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. sharp — clever
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. net — for catching
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. season — in sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. net — after costs
  17. field — for sport
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. net — in sport
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. field — a subject

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