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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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. club — for golf
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bass — low music
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. rest — a break
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. club — for dancing
  12. field — a subject
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. field — farmland
  17. bass — the fish
  18. foot — a measure
  19. rest — what's left
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. club — a group
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. foot — the bottom

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