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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bat — the animal
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. field — farmland
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. content — the amount
  17. press — to push
  18. tear — from crying
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. prune — to trim
  24. content — happy

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