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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: tear · cell · plane · content · lash · squash · pass · mark

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. content — the amount
  9. pass — a permit
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mark — a trace
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. mark — a grade
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. cell — in biology
  19. content — happy
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. plane — in geometry

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