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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. club — for dancing
  3. current — happening now
  4. wound — an injury
  5. field — for sport
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. current — of water
  8. field — a subject
  9. wound — an injury
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. current — electric
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for golf
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. field — farmland
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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