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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. race — the arms race
  3. mate — to breed
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mate — a friend
  9. field — a subject
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. race — a contest
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. field — for sport
  15. lean — thin
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. mate — a partner
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. fork — in a road
  20. race — humankind
  21. ball — a great time
  22. field — farmland
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. lash — an eyelash

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