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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 124 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. field — a subject
  3. net — after costs
  4. mate — to breed
  5. tear — to rip
  6. can — a tin
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. field — for sport
  9. mate — a friend
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mate — a partner
  12. net — for catching
  13. tear — from crying
  14. can — a tin
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. field — farmland
  17. net — in sport
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. tear — from crying
  22. can — to be able to
  23. game — a match
  24. lash — an eyelash

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