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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. field — a subject
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. snap — to click
  8. hand — help
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. bat — the animal
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. field — farmland
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chip — for betting
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. hand — in cards
  22. chip — to eat
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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