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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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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: firm · cell · net · march · hide · lash · field · foot

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ball hit the back of 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. firm — decided
  2. field — a subject
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. march — the month
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. march — the month
  9. firm — a company
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. net — after costs
  12. cell — a phone
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. firm — steady
  15. net — for catching
  16. field — for sport
  17. march — music
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. field — farmland
  20. foot — a measure
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cell — in biology
  23. net — in sport
  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