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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: lash · content · hide · spring · wind · stick · shower · squash

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — the season
  11. shower — to wash
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. content — happy
  14. shower — rain
  15. spring — of water
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. squash — to crush
  18. spring — a coil
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. content — the amount
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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