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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 · fork · field · wind · foot · lash

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. field — for sport
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. field — farmland
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. wind — moving air
  15. foot — a measure
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. field — a subject
  18. wind — moving air

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