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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pit · staff · face · lash · squash · bark · field · bat

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pit — a hole
  3. staff — employees
  4. field — for sport
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. squash — the sport
  7. staff — a stick
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pit — in a race
  13. face — to point toward
  14. field — a subject
  15. face — to confront
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. staff — employees
  24. lash — an eyelash

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