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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. content — happy
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. squash — to crush
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. squash — the sport
  14. content — the amount
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. spring — of water
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. spring — the season
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. spring — a coil

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