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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. field — a subject
  3. drill — army training
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. charge — in control
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. field — farmland
  10. wake — a trail
  11. drill — a practice
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — for sport
  17. charge — a price
  18. tear — from crying
  19. drill — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. charge — electricity
  23. tear — to rip
  24. nail — on a finger

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