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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. land — to come down
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. field — for sport
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. land — ground
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. land — a country
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cue — a signal
  19. field — a subject
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cue — for pool
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. field — farmland
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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