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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. field — for sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chest — a box
  8. field — a subject
  9. ball — a dance
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. spring — of water
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. field — farmland
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spring — a coil
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. spring — the season
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. ball — a great time
  24. mouse — the animal

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