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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. field — a subject
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. field — for sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. hand — help
  7. band — a music group
  8. suit — to fit
  9. bound — obliged
  10. suit — in cards
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. clip — a video
  15. bound — tied together
  16. suit — clothes
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bound — certain
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. field — farmland

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