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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: track · cabinet · chair · lash · tear · sharp · squash · field

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. chair — a leader
  7. sharp — clever
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. squash — the sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. squash — to crush
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. lash — to lash out

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