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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bat — the animal
  3. board — a committee
  4. field — for sport
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. field — farmland
  8. board — to get on
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. key — in music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. key — the most important part
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kick — in football
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. saw — the tool
  18. key — for a lock
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. field — a subject
  24. board — a flat piece

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