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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. spring — a coil
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. pit — a hole
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. field — farmland
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. chair — a leader
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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