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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. swing — to play on
  11. kick — in football
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. field — a subject
  16. saw — the tool
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wake — a trail
  24. swing — music

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