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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — for sport
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. band — a ring
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. field — a subject
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. foot — a measure
  22. band — a music group
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. hide — animal skin

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