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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. field — farmland
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. band — a ring
  7. fork — in a road
  8. snap — to click
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. kid — child
  12. wake — a trail
  13. mug — a cup
  14. field — a subject
  15. kid — to tease
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. band — a music group
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. mug — to rob
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. field — for sport
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. fork — to eat with

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