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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rock — a stone
  7. chair — a leader
  8. field — farmland
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. lie — to recline
  11. stock — shares
  12. field — a subject
  13. bat — the animal
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. stock — goods
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. field — for sport
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chair — a professorship

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