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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. spring — of water
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. present — the time now
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. chip — for betting
  9. stand — to bear
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bat — the animal
  12. spring — a coil
  13. field — for sport
  14. present — a gift
  15. cold — not warm
  16. field — farmland
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cold — an illness
  20. field — a subject
  21. spring — the season
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. present — there
  24. bat — for baseball

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