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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: fall · field · march · dip · squash · straw · lash · race

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. race — a contest
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. fall — to drop
  8. march — music
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. race — the arms race
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. march — the month
  14. race — humankind
  15. squash — the sport
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. squash — to crush
  19. field — for sport
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. march — the month
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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