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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 116 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. ground — crushed
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. ground — the earth
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. object — an aim
  7. mate — a partner
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. field — a subject
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. press — newspapers
  12. mate — to breed
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — to push
  15. object — to protest
  16. ground — a position
  17. object — a thing
  18. kid — child
  19. mate — a friend
  20. field — farmland
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pound — a weight

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