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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: spell · lash · field · chest · rest · band · wound · nail

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. rest — what's left
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rest — what's left
  7. band — a ring
  8. rest — a break
  9. spell — magic
  10. chest — a box
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. field — for sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spell — a short time
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. spell — letters
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. chest — of your body

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