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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: race · hide · field · content · spring · straw · pound · lash

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. field — for sport
  3. pound — a weight
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. field — a subject
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. race — humankind
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. content — the amount
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. content — happy
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. field — farmland

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