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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: drill · squash · lie · land · lash · bore · hand · spring

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. land — a country
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. land — to come down
  7. drill — a practice
  8. hand — in cards
  9. drill — army training
  10. bore — to drill
  11. hand — help
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. squash — the sport
  15. drill — the tool
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. spring — the season
  22. lie — to recline
  23. bore — to tire
  24. land — ground

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