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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.

Words on the sheet
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: rash · wound · straw · field · bat · kick · drill · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. rash — a series
  4. drill — army training
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. wound — an injury
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rash — hasty
  17. field — farmland
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. kick — in football
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bat — the animal

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