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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. firm — steady
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. field — farmland
  7. firm — decided
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. net — after costs
  10. toast — bread
  11. firm — a company
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. spring — of water
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. plane — a tool
  18. spring — a coil
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. spring — the season
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. net — for catching

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