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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. field — for sport
  6. stem — to come from
  7. firm — decided
  8. snap — to click
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. firm — a company
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. last — final
  16. field — a subject
  17. bass — the fish
  18. field — farmland
  19. bass — low music
  20. last — to go on
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. last — finally
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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