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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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468
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: land · stand · chest · bowl · nail · rush · lash · roll

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. land — ground
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. land — to come down
  11. roll — a list
  12. chest — a box
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. land — a country
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. roll — a cake

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