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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 116 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. current — happening now
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. row — a line
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. present — a gift
  12. current — of water
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — the time now
  15. current — electric
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. field — a subject
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. field — farmland
  21. row — to paddle
  22. field — for sport
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. row — a quarrel

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