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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. ground — the earth
  4. swing — to play on
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. drill — army training
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. scale — size or range
  10. ground — crushed
  11. field — farmland
  12. ground — a position
  13. kick — in football
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. swing — music
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. field — a subject
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. drill — the tool
  22. swing — in golf
  23. scale — in music
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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