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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. field — for sport
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. pass — a permit
  13. field — a subject
  14. rule — government
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bass — low music
  24. rule — a law

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