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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. field — a subject
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pitch — completely
  6. field — for sport
  7. mine — for digging
  8. field — farmland
  9. court — of a king
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. current — happening now
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. stock — goods
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. stock — shares
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. lash — to lash out

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