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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. rush — hurry
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. row — to paddle
  9. kid — child
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. field — a subject
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. row — a line
  16. field — for sport
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. game — a match
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. field — farmland

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