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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. firm — steady
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. field — a subject
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. firm — a company
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bore — to tire
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cold — an illness
  18. field — for sport
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. firm — decided
  23. kick — in football
  24. bass — low music

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