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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.

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: ground · mate · squash · lash · field · band · can · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. ground — the earth
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. band — a music group
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. field — for sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. ground — a position
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. mate — a friend
  15. squash — the sport
  16. ground — crushed
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — a tin
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a partner
  21. squash — to crush
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. can — to be able to

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