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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. scale — in music
  4. field — a subject
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. field — for sport
  9. present — there
  10. field — farmland
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. present — a gift
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. present — the time now
  24. mine — belonging to me

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