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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 · content · squash · fine · bark · cold · chip · march

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. fine — all right
  3. bark — to shout
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cold — not warm
  7. march — music
  8. content — the amount
  9. squash — to crush
  10. content — happy
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. fine — high quality
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. march — the month
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. chip — to eat
  22. squash — the sport
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — the Cold War

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