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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: rule · field · shower · squash · deal · clip · present · lash

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. shower — rain
  3. clip — to cut
  4. field — a subject
  5. rule — a law
  6. field — farmland
  7. shower — to wash
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. present — the time now
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. present — there
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. squash — the sport
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. present — a gift
  18. clip — for paper
  19. deal — to handle
  20. clip — a video
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. rule — government
  24. squash — to crush

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