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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: wave · mine · field · file · lash · season · saw · game

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. season — of the year
  7. file — a line of people
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. field — a subject
  13. season — in sport
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. mine — for digging
  18. field — for sport
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. file — a tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. file — a document
  23. saw — the tool
  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