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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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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: squash · plane · rush · pitcher · capital · field · lash · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. plane — a tool
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. field — a subject
  13. squash — to crush
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rush — hurry
  18. field — for sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. field — farmland
  21. capital — a city
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. pitcher — a jug

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