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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: squash · land · cold · tube · lash · lean · roll · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. tube — the underground
  3. land — to come down
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. tube — a container
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. land — a country
  10. roll — a cake
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. squash — the sport
  14. land — ground
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. roll — a list
  19. mate — a friend
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. lean — to bend
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. mate — a partner
  24. 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