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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. content — happy
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. content — the amount
  10. field — a subject
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. chip — to eat
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. field — farmland
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. field — for sport
  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