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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. spring — the season
  3. field — a subject
  4. race — humankind
  5. spring — of water
  6. net — after costs
  7. mug — to rob
  8. race — a contest
  9. net — for catching
  10. race — the arms race
  11. root — the cause
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. net — in sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. root — of a word
  18. mug — a cup
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. mug — a face
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. root — of a plant
  24. patient — a sick person

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