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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. root — of a plant
  4. season — in sport
  5. lean — to bend
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. lean — thin
  8. face — part of the head
  9. land — a country
  10. face — to confront
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. game — a match
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. face — to point toward
  15. season — of the year
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. root — of a word
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. game — wild animals
  21. land — to come down
  22. root — the cause
  23. land — ground
  24. racket — for tennis

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