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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: band · stand · object · lash · perch · kid · squash · spell

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. spell — magic
  3. squash — the sport
  4. band — a ring
  5. spell — letters
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. object — to protest
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. band — a music group
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. stand — to bear
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. squash — to crush
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spell — a short time
  17. object — an aim
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. object — a thing

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