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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.

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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: lash · cell · coach · squash · tear · cold

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cold — an illness
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cell — in biology
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — not warm
  18. squash — the vegetable

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