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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — an injury
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. field — for sport
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. chest — of your body
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. chest — a box
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. squash — the 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