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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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: mate · lash · bass · face · game · squash · field · cap

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. mate — a partner
  6. game — a match
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cap — of ice
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bass — low music
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cap — a lid
  15. squash — the sport
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. field — a subject
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. mate — to breed
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. face — to point toward

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