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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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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 · saw · squash · drill · cold · wake · chair · firm

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cold — not warm
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cold — an illness
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. chair — a leader
  13. firm — a company
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — the sport
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. saw — the tool
  18. squash — to crush
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. firm — steady
  21. drill — army training
  22. firm — decided
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wake — a trail

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