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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. field — a subject
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. mark — a trace
  7. chip — to eat
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. field — farmland
  10. land — a country
  11. wake — a trail
  12. mark — a grade
  13. spring — the season
  14. chip — for betting
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. spring — of water
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. field — for sport
  23. land — ground
  24. spring — a coil

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