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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. sharp — clever
  4. field — for sport
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fall — to drop
  10. roll — a list
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitch — completely
  13. wind — moving air
  14. field — a subject
  15. fall — to drop
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. field — farmland
  23. fall — the season
  24. roll — a cake

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