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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lean — to bend
  3. present — the time now
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. bound — obliged
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bound — certain
  11. present — a gift
  12. field — for sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. present — there
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bound — tied together
  22. lean — thin
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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