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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: wind · field · lash · race · last · pound · drill · stick

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. field — farmland
  3. last — to go on
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. last — finally
  12. race — humankind
  13. drill — army training
  14. field — a subject
  15. drill — the tool
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. drill — a practice
  20. race — a contest
  21. field — for sport
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. last — final

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