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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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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: fall · lash · mate · field · tube · last · fork · kid

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. fork — in a road
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. field — farmland
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mate — to breed
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fall — the season
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — for sport
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. field — a subject
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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