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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · bat · lash · object · lean · stick · field · wind

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. object — an aim
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. lean — thin
  7. field — for sport
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. object — to protest
  10. field — farmland
  11. object — a thing
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. pound — a weight
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — the animal
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. field — a subject
  22. lean — to bend
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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