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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 120 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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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: rule · pitch · hide · fork · lash · squash · spring · wound

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. squash — the sport
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. rule — government
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. spring — the season
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. squash — to crush
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pitch — completely
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. fork — in a road
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — a law
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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