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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pop — music
  4. march — music
  5. spring — the season
  6. field — for sport
  7. pop — to visit
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. field — a subject
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. march — the month
  14. field — farmland
  15. march — the month
  16. pound — a weight
  17. squash — the sport
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. court — for sport
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pop — soda
  23. spring — of water
  24. squash — to crush

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