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

Word bank: lash · snap · field · kick · mug · last · press · content

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. last — final
  3. content — happy
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. field — farmland
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. press — to push
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — a cup
  15. snap — to click
  16. kick — in football
  17. press — newspapers
  18. last — finally
  19. field — a subject
  20. last — to go on
  21. field — for sport
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. press — a publisher
  24. mug — to rob

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