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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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 — a subject
  2. row — a line
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. net — for catching
  11. craft — boats
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rash — hasty
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bark — to shout
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. field — farmland
  20. net — after costs
  21. field — for sport
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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