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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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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: lash · tear · content · stem · shower · can · scale · squash

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. shower — rain
  3. can — a tin
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. can — to be able to
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. scale — size or range
  8. can — a tin
  9. squash — the sport
  10. scale — in music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. content — the amount
  13. tear — to rip
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. squash — to crush
  23. shower — to wash
  24. lash — an eyelash

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