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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bass — low music
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — a subject
  9. spring — of water
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. spring — the season
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. tear — from crying
  16. present — the time now
  17. bass — the fish
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. present — a gift
  22. field — for sport
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. present — there

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