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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. field — for sport
  3. rash — a series
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. rash — hasty
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. chip — for betting
  11. stem — to come from
  12. last — final
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. chip — to eat
  15. last — to go on
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. last — finally
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. field — a subject
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. pitch — completely

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