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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. shower — to wash
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. squash — the sport
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. swing — music
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. content — happy
  11. date — the fruit
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. content — the amount
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. lean — thin
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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