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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. net — after costs
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. field — for sport
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. spring — of water
  9. cap — a lid
  10. charge — electricity
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. cap — a hat
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cap — of ice
  20. charge — a price
  21. charge — in control
  22. field — a subject
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. spring — the season

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