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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — in football
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. cap — a hat
  8. root — of a plant
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. root — of a word
  12. rash — a series
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rash — hasty
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. foot — a measure
  22. root — the cause
  23. field — for sport
  24. kick — with a leg

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