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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. field — for sport
  3. charge — in control
  4. field — a subject
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. row — a line
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wake — a trail
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. lean — thin
  17. charge — electricity
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. field — farmland
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bowl — a dish

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