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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 120 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: cue · saw · wound · court · field · rush · lash · land

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. land — a country
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. field — farmland
  6. court — for sport
  7. saw — the tool
  8. land — to come down
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cue — a signal
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. saw — the tool
  16. land — ground
  17. court — of a king
  18. rush — hurry
  19. court — of law
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. cue — a hint
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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