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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. last — final
  6. swing — music
  7. last — finally
  8. race — the arms race
  9. field — for sport
  10. swing — to play on
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. race — humankind
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. swing — in golf
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. race — a contest
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. lash — to lash out

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