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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. mug — to rob
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. game — a match
  12. field — a subject
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. field — farmland
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. game — wild animals
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — a face
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cell — a phone
  21. field — for sport
  22. foot — a measure
  23. cell — in biology
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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