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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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Word bank
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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: field · kick · jam · court · bat · squash · lash · arm

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bat — the animal
  3. field — for sport
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. kick — in football
  7. court — for sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. court — of a king
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. squash — the sport
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. squash — to crush
  18. court — of law
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. field — farmland
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. kick — a thrill

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