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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. field — farmland
  3. lean — to bend
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. club — for golf
  6. game — a match
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. club — a group
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. sharp — clever
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lean — thin
  19. game — wild animals
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. club — for dancing
  24. chest — of your body

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