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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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. lean — thin
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cell — in biology
  22. field — a subject
  23. wax — to grow
  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