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

Word bank: file · wind · lash · tear · cell · squash

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. tear — to rip
  6. file — a tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. tear — from crying
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cell — in biology
  12. tear — from crying
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cell — a phone
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. squash — to crush

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