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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: fall · lash · vault · squash · patient · roll · wind · row

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wind — moving air
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fall — to drop
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. row — a line
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. roll — a cake
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. fall — to drop
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. roll — a list
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. row — to paddle
  20. vault — a safe
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. fall — the season
  23. squash — to crush
  24. patient — a sick person

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