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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: net · bat · key · lash · leaves · lean · game · field

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. field — farmland
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bat — the animal
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. net — after costs
  8. field — a subject
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. key — in music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. net — in sport
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. game — wild animals
  17. lean — to bend
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. field — for sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. key — for a lock
  24. lean — thin

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