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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 preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. bore — to tire
  3. field — a subject
  4. net — for catching
  5. rock — music
  6. field — for sport
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cell — a phone
  13. net — in sport
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. net — after costs
  16. cell — in biology
  17. rock — a stone
  18. field — farmland
  19. bore — to drill
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. lash — to lash out

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