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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: field · fall · hide · squash · lash · fine · mate · trunk

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mate — a partner
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mate — to breed
  11. fall — to drop
  12. field — for sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. mate — a friend
  15. fall — the season
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fine — high quality
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. squash — the vegetable

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