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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cue — a signal
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. staff — employees
  6. net — after costs
  7. content — the amount
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. net — for catching
  10. staff — a stick
  11. content — happy
  12. net — in sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lean — to bend
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — for pool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. field — for sport
  21. staff — employees
  22. field — farmland
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to rest against

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