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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. game — wild animals
  3. field — a subject
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. face — to confront
  9. game — a match
  10. field — farmland
  11. net — for catching
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. row — a line
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. net — in sport
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. field — for sport
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. stock — goods
  21. net — after costs
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wave — with your hand

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