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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. wind — moving air
  7. charge — in control
  8. field — a subject
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. spell — letters
  11. field — for sport
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. charge — a price
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mark — a trace
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mark — a grade
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — magic
  23. charge — electricity
  24. field — farmland

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