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

Word bank: squash · cap · fan · stem · tear · drill · lash · wind

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. squash — to crush
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stem — to come from
  5. drill — army training
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cap — of ice
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. squash — the sport
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cap — a lid
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. lash — an eyelash

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