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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. file — a tool
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wake — a trail
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. staff — a stick
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — farmland
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. file — a document
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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