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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: game · land · squash · rock · cue · lash · field · plane

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. cue — a signal
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. land — a country
  7. rock — music
  8. squash — to crush
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. land — to come down
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — for pool
  14. squash — the sport
  15. land — ground
  16. rock — a stone
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. game — a match
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. game — wild animals

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