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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: stick · face · squash · field · bulb · hide · rush · staff

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bulb — for light
  8. staff — employees
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. staff — a stick
  11. face — to point toward
  12. field — a subject
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. field — farmland
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. staff — employees
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. field — for sport
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. squash — the sport
  24. face — to confront

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