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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 · bound · rock · snap · wave · lash · hand · roll

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. bound — obliged
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. roll — a list
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bound — tied together
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. roll — a cake
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. field — a subject
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. hand — in cards
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. bound — certain
  23. hand — help
  24. field — farmland

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