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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. field — farmland
  7. bass — the fish
  8. face — to point toward
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bass — low music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. field — for sport
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. face — part of the head
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. face — to confront
  24. field — a subject

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