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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. spring — the season
  3. bear — the animal
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. spring — of water
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. last — final
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. press — a publisher
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. last — finally
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. press — newspapers
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. bear — the animal
  21. press — to push
  22. last — to go on
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. net — in sport

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