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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: mine · bay · race · lash · field · game · wound · plane

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. mine — for digging
  6. race — a contest
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. race — humankind
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. field — for sport
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. field — farmland
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. game — wild animals
  20. field — a subject
  21. plane — a tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — an aircraft

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