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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. band — a music group
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — for sport
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. field — farmland
  11. bear — the animal
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bat — the animal
  18. band — a ring
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. field — a subject
  21. spell — letters
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. spell — magic
  24. lash — an eyelash

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