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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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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: lash · field · straw · race · bowl · land · toast · rock

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. race — humankind
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. toast — bread
  10. field — for sport
  11. land — a country
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. field — a subject
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. race — the arms race
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. land — ground
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. rock — music
  22. land — to come down
  23. field — farmland
  24. race — a contest

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