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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. field — for sport
  6. pound — a weight
  7. field — farmland
  8. hand — in cards
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. rock — a stone
  12. lie — to recline
  13. ground — crushed
  14. field — a subject
  15. hand — help
  16. ground — the earth
  17. season — of the year
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. ground — a position
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. rock — music
  24. season — in sport

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