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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. field — a subject
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wake — a trail
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. kid — to tease
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. field — farmland
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. drill — army training
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. drill — the tool
  22. kid — child
  23. field — for sport
  24. coach — a trainer

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