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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: mine · lash · pitcher · saw · drill · fan · rash · squash

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. rash — a series
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. squash — to crush
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. drill — a practice
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. squash — the sport
  21. rash — hasty
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. drill — army training

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