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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: field · foot · lash · kid · cold · wave · saw · rule

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kid — to tease
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. rule — a law
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kid — child
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rule — government
  12. foot — a measure
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. field — a subject
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. saw — the tool
  21. field — farmland
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. field — for sport

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