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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.

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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: hand · lash · rock · squash · field · nail · current · coach

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. squash — the sport
  5. current — happening now
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. squash — to crush
  12. field — farmland
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. current — of water
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rock — a stone
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. field — a subject
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. field — for sport
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. current — electric

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