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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
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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: stick · lie · board · straw · content · squash · rush · field

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rush — hurry
  3. board — a committee
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. lie — to recline
  11. squash — the sport
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. squash — to crush
  14. content — the amount
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. board — to get on
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. lie — an untruth
  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