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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. squash — to crush
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. row — to paddle
  8. swing — in golf
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — a tool
  11. band — a music group
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wake — a trail
  16. field — farmland
  17. swing — music
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. swing — to play on
  21. row — a line
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. lash — to lash out

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