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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: field · wound · lash · hide · pitcher · cold · calf · roll

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. roll — a cake
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. roll — a list
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cold — not warm
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cold — an illness
  13. field — for sport
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. field — farmland
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wound — an injury
  24. roll — on a roll

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