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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — hurry
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. current — electric
  6. present — a gift
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. current — happening now
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. present — the time now
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. field — a subject
  19. prune — to trim
  20. clip — for paper
  21. present — there
  22. field — for sport
  23. current — of water
  24. rush — to hurry

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