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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. field — for sport
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mug — a cup
  7. field — farmland
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mug — a face
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. fall — the season
  12. game — wild animals
  13. field — a subject
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. shower — rain
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. shower — to wash
  22. fall — to drop
  23. game — a match
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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