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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bat — the animal
  5. season — of the year
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cold — not warm
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. field — for sport
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. field — farmland
  19. foot — a measure
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. season — in sport
  24. wound — an injury

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