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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: face · field · bass · tube · hand · lash · row · mate

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mate — to breed
  4. tube — a container
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mate — a friend
  7. row — to paddle
  8. face — to point toward
  9. field — farmland
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. face — to confront
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. field — a subject
  18. bass — low music
  19. field — for sport
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. hand — help
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mate — a partner
  24. face — part of the head

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