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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. content — happy
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. content — the amount
  6. spring — of water
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. field — for sport
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. kick — in football
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. present — there
  15. field — farmland
  16. present — the time now
  17. rash — a series
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. spring — the season
  20. present — a gift
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. field — a subject
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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