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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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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 · pitcher · squash · leaves · kid · cell · bass · clip

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bass — low music
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. clip — to cut
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cell — in biology
  15. clip — a video
  16. kid — child
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. bass — the fish
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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