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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. field — farmland
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. field — a subject
  9. capital — a city
  10. season — of the year
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. field — for sport
  15. present — the time now
  16. rash — a series
  17. capital — money
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. present — a gift
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. rash — hasty
  23. season — in sport
  24. present — there

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