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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 124 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. field — for sport
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. field — a subject
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. foot — a measure
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. rush — hurry
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. field — farmland
  22. chair — a leader
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. foot — the bottom

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