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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. rock — a stone
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. rock — music
  8. court — of a king
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. pound — a weight
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. land — ground
  18. field — farmland
  19. court — for sport
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. court — of law
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. sharp — clever
  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