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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: bulb · squash · branch · fall · current · lash · field · hide

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. field — a subject
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. field — farmland
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bulb — for light
  9. squash — the sport
  10. fall — to drop
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fall — to drop
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — electric
  16. current — of water
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. fall — the season
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bulb — for light
  21. branch — a division
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. field — for sport

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