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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bass · squash · spell · march · lash · fan · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — farmland
  3. bass — low music
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. field — for sport
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. march — music
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — the month
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. march — the month
  20. bass — the fish
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. field — a subject
  24. spell — a short time

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