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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. chest — a box
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. field — a subject
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. saw — the tool
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. current — of water
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — electric
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. chest — of your body
  24. date — the fruit

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