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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 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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mate — a friend
  5. roll — a list
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. chest — of your body
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the sport
  10. roll — a cake
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. tear — from crying
  13. swing — to play on
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chest — a box
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. swing — music
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. swing — in golf
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a partner
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. nail — on a finger

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