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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: bat · field · pit · rash · lash · cell · bear · wave

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rash — a series
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. field — farmland
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. pit — a hole
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — for sport
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. rash — hasty
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. field — a subject
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cell — in a prison

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