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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. mate — to breed
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. row — a line
  11. dip — to sink
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — to paddle
  14. mate — a friend
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. scale — in music
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mate — a partner
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. game — a match

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