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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: tear · staff · field · kid · cell · lash · track · kick

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  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. tear — from crying
  3. kid — child
  4. staff — employees
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. track — a song
  8. staff — a stick
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. track — to keep track
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kick — in football
  13. field — for sport
  14. cell — a phone
  15. field — farmland
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cell — in biology
  19. track — a path
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. tear — to rip
  22. staff — employees
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  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