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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: foot · field · bay · lash · wound · spring · rash · pound

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. field — a subject
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — farmland
  13. spring — the season
  14. field — for sport
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. pound — a weight
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. foot — a measure
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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