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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: face · chair · wave · lash · row · wound · field · bulb

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bulb — for light
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. row — a line
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. wound — an injury
  11. field — for sport
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. field — farmland
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. face — to point toward
  22. field — a subject
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  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