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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: race · field · lash · fan · snap · bulb · land · rash

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. snap — to click
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rash — a series
  10. bulb — for light
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. land — a country
  13. race — humankind
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. field — farmland
  20. rash — hasty
  21. field — for sport
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. field — a subject

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