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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rock — a stone
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rash — hasty
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rash — a series
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. rock — music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. field — for sport
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. fine — all right
  16. field — a subject
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. fine — high quality
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. straw — a straw man

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