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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 · wind · bowl · trunk · lash · court · season · straw

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. season — in sport
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. court — of a king
  10. field — farmland
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wind — moving air
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. season — of the year

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