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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: wound · deal · lash · season · field · squash · file · hide

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. squash — the sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. squash — to crush
  9. file — a tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. season — of the year
  12. wound — an injury
  13. season — in sport
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. file — a line of people
  16. deal — to handle
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a document
  20. field — for sport
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. field — farmland
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. season — to add flavour

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