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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. land — ground
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. snap — to click
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. field — for sport
  8. scale — size or range
  9. fork — in a road
  10. net — in sport
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. land — a country
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. field — farmland
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. net — after costs
  17. field — a subject
  18. net — for catching
  19. scale — in music
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. land — to come down
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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