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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: race · cell · field · kick · present · pop · spring · lash

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. present — there
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. spring — a coil
  7. race — humankind
  8. present — a gift
  9. cell — in biology
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. cell — a phone
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. race — the arms race
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. present — the time now
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pop — to visit
  18. field — a subject
  19. race — a contest
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. kick — in football
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — music

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