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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.

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: last · field · row · lash · rule · press · wound · game

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. last — finally
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. wound — an injury
  6. field — for sport
  7. last — final
  8. game — wild animals
  9. last — to go on
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. row — to paddle
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — a publisher
  16. game — a match
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. rule — government
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. press — to push
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. wound — an injury

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