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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: wind · snap · nail · mate · ground · lash · field · band

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. band — a music group
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. snap — to click
  14. mate — a partner
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. ground — the earth
  20. field — for sport
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ground — a position
  24. band — a ring

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