ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

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 · squash · fan · rash · season · rest · swing · bark

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. rash — hasty
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. rest — a break
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rash — a series
  10. season — of the year
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rest — what's left
  13. squash — the sport
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. swing — in golf
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. rest — what's left
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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