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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. field — a subject
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stock — goods
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bass — the fish
  12. field — for sport
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bass — low music
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. stock — shares
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. sharp — clever
  19. field — farmland
  20. chair — a leader
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. sharp — exactly

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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