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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: last · can · field · pass · squash · mate · hand · wind

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. last — final
  9. field — farmland
  10. mate — a partner
  11. last — to go on
  12. wind — moving air
  13. can — a tin
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. mate — to breed
  19. squash — the sport
  20. field — for sport
  21. last — finally
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mate — a friend
  24. can — a tin

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