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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. spring — the season
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. spring — a coil
  9. charge — in control
  10. bat — the animal
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. spring — of water
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. field — farmland
  15. season — in sport
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. field — for sport
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. field — a subject
  21. charge — a price
  22. season — of the year
  23. pound — a weight
  24. charge — electricity

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