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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 · foot · lash · game · bass · bat · row · drill

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. field — farmland
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bat — the animal
  6. drill — army training
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bass — low music
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. game — a match
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. foot — a measure

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