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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. field — a subject
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. dip — to sink
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. field — for sport
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. field — farmland
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. game — a match
  20. fork — in a road
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. chair — a leader

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