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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: wound · bore · cold · racket · squash · foot · chest · lash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. squash — to crush
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bore — to drill
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. cold — an illness
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wound — an injury

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