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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 · last · lash · bat · cabinet · bowl · kick · pound

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. last — to go on
  2. field — farmland
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. kick — in football
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. field — a subject
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — a weight
  16. field — for sport
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. last — final
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. last — finally
  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