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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. field — a subject
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cold — an illness
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. bound — obliged
  13. field — farmland
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. field — for sport
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bound — tied together
  20. season — of the year
  21. bound — certain
  22. cold — not warm
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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