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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pop — music
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. plane — a tool
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pitch — completely
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. chair — a leader
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pop — to visit
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. wind — moving air
  21. field — farmland
  22. pop — soda
  23. field — for sport
  24. arm — part of the body

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