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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. snap — to click
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. field — farmland
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. charge — electricity
  9. field — for sport
  10. spell — letters
  11. charge — in control
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. root — of a plant
  14. pop — music
  15. field — a subject
  16. spell — magic
  17. root — the cause
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. spell — a short time
  21. charge — a price
  22. pop — to visit
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. root — of a word

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